Love and Jealousy
by Sleepy-zzz
Summary: No summary until I write a better one
1. Prologue

IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE PREQUEL TO THIS, PLEASE DO!

I got another great idea for the story that I didn't mention in the epilogue, since I got it after the epilogue. In Kai's house, actually, in her room, Zarine finds something most disturbing. Read to find out!!

* * *

Prologue  
  
Ray looked down at the girl who was sleeping with her head resting on his chest. He shifted a little to get more comfortable, but was careful not to wake her up. He yawned, feeling tired. As much as he wanted to sleep, he couldn't. Everyone on the plane was asleep, except the flight attendants, of course. He looked out the window, but there was nothing out there, apart from darkness. It was night after all. He hoped that the next few hours will pass quickly.  
  
"Ray, why aren't you asleep?" Zarine asked softly, lifting her head off his chest.  
  
"Can't sleep," Ray replied, turning his attention on his girlfriend. "Put your head back there, it was keeping me warm."  
  
"Fine, but try and go to sleep, all right?" she asked, putting her head back down.  
  
"Okay," he answered.  
  
She was soon asleep again. Ray began wrapping a lock of her silver hair around his finger. He thought of the events that happened in Hong Kong. Some pretty bad and dangerous happened in the tournament, but in the end, it had brought Zarine to him. It was the best thing that ever happened to him. Well, it was as good as the day that he got Driger. They were the two most important people in his life. (Just pretend Driger is a person.) He could never choose between them.  
  
He yawned again. His eyelids felt heavy, soon he fell asleep.  
  
"Please put your seatbelts on, we are preparing to land in Tokyo," a male voice said over the announcement system.  
  
Everyone stirred, except Tyson, that is. "Someone better wake him up," Kenny said.  
  
"I have an idea!" Zarine said.  
  
She screeched in Tyson's ear, "Tyson! Wake up! The plane is going to crash!!!"  
  
Tyson jumped up. "OH NO!!!! WE'RE GOING TO DIE!!!!!"  
  
Max laughed, "Chill out, Tyson. We're just going to land. Put your seatbelt on."  
  
"Oh," the navy blue haired boy said sheepishly.  
  
"Where's Grandpa?" Kenny asked in the airport.  
  
"IN COMING!!!" someone shouted.  
  
Suddenly a figure flashed out from behind a pole and hit Tyson on the head with a kendo stick (What is that thing called?) "OW!! Grandpa!! I told you not to do that!" Tyson complained.  
  
"Yo, peeps! Mr. D told me what happened in China. It seems like you guys are always getting into trouble," the old man said.  
  
"Grandpa, like it's our fault everyone wants our bit-beast!" his grandson defended.  
  
"We can talk about this later. Aren't you going to introduce the young lady to me?"  
  
"Oh ya, Zarine, this is my crazy grandpa. And Grandpa, this is Zarine, the newest member to our team," Tyson said.  
  
"Hello. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Granger," Zarine said shyly.  
  
"You can call me Grandpa, dawg, like the rest of the gang does," Grandpa said.  
  
"Okay...Grandpa," Zarine said uncertainly.  
  
As they got into the bus that Mr. D. provided for them, Kenny asked, "Why didn't Hilary come?"  
  
"Oh, the poor gal is sneezing and coughing like crazy at home. I told her I'd send you guys to see her as soon as possible," Grandpa answered.  
  
"How could she get a cold in Hawaii? Anyways, how come you told her that? There's no way I'm going to volunteer to go see her," Tyson declared.  
  
"Oh yes, you will. She had been worried sick about you," said Grandpa. "You can go see her after you get some rest."  
  
The bus driver stopped at Kai's place. Kai, Ray and Zarine got off. "Holy cow! That's a huge mansion!" Zarine exclaimed, her eyes wide.  
  
"See you later!" Ray said, waving to his friends.  
  
They walked in through the big oak front doors to a lobby with marble tiles. There was a huge staircase in the middle, and then separated into two smaller ones that reached the two different sides of the room.  
  
Zarine turned to Kai and questioned, "Just how big is this place?"  
  
"Too big for one person," answered Kai.  
  
She rolled her eyes. "I realized that."  
  
"When you get a tour of the house, you will see," Ray said.  
  
"Master Kai, welcome back," the butler said. He was a stout man with a few grey hairs.  
  
"Ray, you can stay in the room that you always stay in, and Zarine, you can have the one next to his," Kai said. "Thomas, show them to their rooms."  
  
Zarine looked at everything on the way. There were dozens of paintings on the wall, ranging from basket of fruits, to lions in the forest. Sculptures and statues of all sizes lined up on either side of the hallway.  
  
"Here's your room, miss," Thomas said, opening the door for her.  
  
She thanked him going in. Her room was spacious with a queen size bed. It was painted a dark rose color. Two circular nightstands were on either side of the bed, one with a little lamp and the other one with a box. There was an elegant desk against the wall opposite of the bed. On the left side of the room was a sliding glass door that gave access to a balcony. On the right side was a huge closet. Soft leather seats were placed close to the window.  
  
She had never thought she would live in such a room. Then something caught her eye. There was a painting above the door. She stared at it, transfixed by the image. That woman in that beautiful blue gown looked exactly like her mother. Chills ran down her spine. As much as she was unwilling to go near it, she forced herself to plant herself right in front of it. She studied the lady. It didn't look exactly like her mom, but she could swear that the woman in it looked so much like her mom that she could be her twin sister!  
  
"Hi," someone said from behind her.  
  
Zarine's heart jumped into her throat. She whirled around and saw Ray standing there.  
  
"How...how did you..." she stammered.  
  
Ray pointed at the door beside the closet. "Our rooms are connected by that door."  
  
"Oh, I didn't notice that," she said. Her racing heart was beginning to slow down.  
  
"You okay?" he asked, frowning.  
  
"Yeah. You just startled me, that's all," the small girl said, forcing a smile.  
  
"Get some rest now," he said.  
  
She raised an eyebrow, "You were the one who couldn't sleep on the plane." She got under the dark blue blankets.  
  
"Sweet dreams," her boyfriend said, kissing her lightly on the cheek.  
  
"You too," she said before closing her eyes.  
  
She woke up and saw bright rays of sunshine coming in through the windows. Unintentionally, her eyes landed on that portrait. It really bothered her. It seemed like that woman watched her every movement in the room. She tried to shake off that feeling. After all, the lady did look like her mom, it should make her feel like that her mother was watching over her. Still, she couldn't convince herself that it wasn't freaky.

* * *

I know this is short, but it's a good place to stop. Will update soon!


	2. Chapter 1: Tour of the House

Chapter One – Tour of the House  
  
"Hey, you're awake," Ray said to Zarine, coming in from the door connecting their rooms.  
  
Zarine chided, "Next time, knock before you come in. What if I'm changing or something?"  
  
"Why would that matter?" he asked jokingly.  
  
She gave him a light punch on the arm. "Watch what you're implying, mister."  
  
"I'm just kidding," he protested.  
  
Zarine got out of bed, and took out a hairbrush. "When will I get to see the rest of the house?" She began to work out the tangles in her curly hair. "Can I see it now?"  
  
"It'll take too long. Besides Kai said that we have to go visit Hilary in an hour," Ray told her.  
  
She sighed disappointedly, "Fine."

* * *

"PRACTICE TIME!!" Grandpa's yell echoed in the room.  
  
"AH!!!" Tyson jumped up from his bed. "How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?"  
  
"Wakey, wakey, sleepy head. The others are waiting for you to get up. We're going to see Hilary, remember?"  
  
"Alright, I'm getting up," Tyson groaned.  
  
Zarine looked around at the surroundings. She thought Tyson was so lucky to live in a dojo like that. She wanted to explore the whole place, but she didn't want to just poke her nose in where she wasn't supposed to.  
  
"Ray, why don't you show Zarine around the dojo?" Grandpa suggested when he saw Zarine's curiosity.  
  
"Okay," Ray said, getting up from the floor.  
  
"I never knew Tyson lived in such a cool place," Zarine said to Ray. Her eyes were full of awe as she walked around the dojo with her boyfriend.  
  
"Well, now you know," he said. "This is Tyson's room."  
  
He opened the door and saw that it was extremely messy. Clothes were all over the floor and there was a pile of crumpled up pieces of paper in a corner. They could hardly see the surface of the desk for pencil crayons covered it.  
  
Ray quickly shut the door before Zarine could peek in. "What did you do that for?" she asked crossly. "I want to see it."  
  
"It's not as nice as the rest of the dojo," he replied quickly, trying to curb her curiosity.  
  
"Like I care, I just want to take a look," she said. She opened the door before Ray could stop her. "It can't be that bad." She shut the door quickly. "Uh, maybe not."  
  
"Ray, Zarine! Let's go," Tyson called.  
  
They walked to Hilary's house, which was only two blocks away from Tyson's dojo.  
  
"Hi, Hilary!" Max said when he saw her.  
  
"...cough...Hey...cough...guys," Hilary said with a smile.  
  
"Hilary, this is Zarine. Zarine, this is Hilary," Kenny introduced them.  
  
"Nice to meet you," Hilary said, before a coughing fit came. "I'm alright," she said after it had passed. "I heard you guys had an exciting time in Hong Kong. It's not fair! I wanted to be there."  
  
"It was dangerous," Zarine said quietly. "And if I had the choice, I would prefer that it never happened."  
  
They all looked at her, surprised. She noticed and quickly assured them, "I don't mean that I had ever regretted meeting you. It's just..."  
  
"We understand," Max said.  
  
"I know that it was dangerous. Ever since I've been with the Bladebreakers, I've been in tight and dangerous spots all the time. Adventure is what makes life more exciting," the sick girl said.  
  
"Yes, but adventures are not always fun and glorious. Danger is always around the corner," Grandpa said.  
  
"It's better to have an exciting but dangerous life rather than a safe but ordinary life," Tyson declared.  
  
Ray suggested, "Let's change the subject now. We didn't come here to be all serious."  
  
"Oh yes, before I forget, Mr. D. said that all of you have to go to school next week after this weekend," Grandpa informed them.  
  
Tyson and Max groaned. "Grandpa, do we have to?" Max asked.  
  
"Yes, my man," Grandpa answered.  
  
"School stinks," Tyson grumbled.  
  
Zarine thought it would be nice to be at a school. She hadn't gone to a real one since two years ago. Then a horrible thought hit her. She was a year younger than the rest of them. That meant she would have to be in Gr. 9 while the others go to Gr. 10.  
  
"Zarine will be all alone. She's a year younger," Ray spoke up the thought that was going through her mind.  
  
"I'll talk to Mr. Dickenson about it and see what he can do," Grandpa promised.  
  
"So what happened in Hong Kong?" Hilary asked.  
  
Max told Hilary the story with occasionally help from the others. When Max finished, she demanded, "How long have you guys stopped training?"  
  
"A week," Kenny answered.  
  
"As soon as I get better, you guys are starting again," she said. She glanced at Zarine to see her reaction.  
  
"Doesn't Kenny take care of your training?" the silver haired girl asked.  
  
"We both do it," Hilary answered smugly. Zarine couldn't possibly take her position as the trainer away, ever. How could the others let that girl train them? She didn't look like she's capable of even launching a blade. To Hilary, Zarine looked more like a hooker than a blader. She better not try and make a move on Tyson!  
  
"I see," Zarine answered with a leveled gaze at the girl with brown hair. If Hilary was there to train them already, what was the point of her being there?  
  
Kai noticed that Hilary looked at Zarine with great dislike, and decided that it might be best if they left. "We've got to go now," he said to the others.  
  
"Why??" Max asked.  
  
"Because Zarine was promised a tour of my house," the team captain replied.  
  
Zarine cheered, "Yay! Finally I get to see how big his house really is!"  
  
Hilary stuck her tongue out at Zarine's back when she was leaving. "How can you let that hooker train you?"  
  
"Zarine is not a hooker," Tyson said, shocked at Hilary's first impression of her.  
  
"She certainly looks like one," she remarked. She coughed.  
  
Tyson was confused. How could Zarine look like a hooker? She didn't even wear anything slutty.  
  
"Look, just because she is good-looking doesn't mean she's a hooker," Tyson reasoned, feeling irritated that Hilary was being so childish.  
  
"She's really nice," Max said.  
  
"Hilary, you shouldn't get so jealous. Just because she trained them in Hong Kong doesn't mean that the boys had replaced you with her," Grandpa said. "You two can train them together."  
  
"Her, train them?" she asked disbelievingly. "She doesn't look like she can spin a beyblade."  
  
"Yet she can, and she's better than any of us," Tyson said, "and she taught us so much in just two weeks."  
  
"So now you don't want me anymore because she's better, right?" Hilary asked angrily. How could Tyson be defending that hooker?  
  
Tyson answered loudly, getting more irritated by the moment, "I never did! If we didn't want you, it would be because you're such a loudmouth. It wouldn't be because of her!"  
  
"Yeah, right! By the looks of it, you're ready to fall down on your knees whenever she looks at you!" she yelled heatedly. The yelling caused her to have another coughing fit.  
  
"You're so—" Tyson began to retort. "OW!" Grandpa had just hit him.  
  
"Stop it, Tyson. You're making her cough worse," Grandpa scolded.  
  
"Like it was my fault! She's the one who's being difficult!" Tyson protested.  
  
Grandpa turned to Hilary and said, "Look, dawg, you should really cool down and think about it. Zarine is a really nice girl and you should get to know her better before making any decisions to hate her. We better go so you can think about it."

* * *

Zarine was wondering why on earth Hilary didn't like her. She hadn't done anything to offend her or anything. She supposed it was just one of those hate at first sight situations.  
  
"Hilary isn't always like that," Ray said. She looked up at him in surprise. How could he always manage to read her mind? Was she really that transparent to him?  
  
"Yeah, and your point is?"  
  
"What I'm trying to say is, there's still a chance that you can be friends."  
  
"I'd say she's just jealous. She probably thinks that we've replaced her with you," Kai said, "which is not true. Since we have the rest of the day, you can have a tour of the mansion."  
  
First, Kai showed her the kitchen. It had two stoves, ovens, fridges, and dishwashers. There were two chefs working at something. Zarine couldn't figure out what they were trying to make. Then, he led her to the library. There were comfy chairs in the middle, and set up to make a circle. They surrounded a low table. She took a glance at some of the books. They were mostly about law, psychology, and science. (Remember what Biovolt did? Criminals...Controllers of Children's Emotional Development, and Bit-beasts Creators.) It might as well have a big fluorescent light sign that screamed, 'BORING!'  
  
"Who lived here with you?" she asked Kai, turning away from the dust covered books.  
  
"My grandfather," Kai replied in a flat tone.  
  
"Why isn't he here now?"  
  
"None of your business," he snapped. If there was one thing on earth he hated more than Tyson's appetite, it was the mention of Voltaire.  
  
She was taken aback by his tone, but let it pass, for now. "Geez, just wondering."  
  
"You better stop wondering now," he said, walking off. "Ray, you show her the rest of the house."  
  
She looked worriedly at Kai's shrinking figure. She didn't mean to get on his nerves. What did his grandfather do anyways, that was so bad for him to talk about?  
  
"He's always been unwilling to talk about him," Ray said quietly.  
  
"I'm sorry," Zarine said. "Didn't mean to make him snap like that."  
  
"You didn't know. I'll tell you about it later, after you've seen the house," he said, taking her hand in his.  
  
Ray led her to the ballroom. There was only one word for that room. GIGANTIC! The thing that drew her breath away wasn't the size of the room, or the crystal chandelier that hang from the ceiling. She stared at the grand piano in the corner. It looked exactly like the one her mother owned and played often. It wasn't the ordinary ones that you can get at the store, which came in mostly black.  
  
The legs were carved in a way that made it look like vines were crawling up. A cluster of flowers were on the cover of the piano in the shape of half a heart. There was a sun carved onto the inside of the cover (the thing you lift up to reveal the keys). She ran her hands along the designs.  
  
This was similar to the case of the portrait. The piano was a lot like the piano she had at home, but there were differences. For one, a star was on the inside of the cover, not a sun. The cluster of flowers formed the left half of the sun, but on the one she had known all her life, it formed the right half. This was seriously getting weird.  
  
"Do you play?" Ray asked. Zarine nearly jumped up at the sound of his voice. She had forgotten that he was still there.  
  
"Not for a long time now," she said. It had been two years since she had last touched one.  
  
Ray looked at his girlfriend. She kept on running her fingers on the sun, and had a far away look in her eyes. Neither of them spoke.  
  
Suddenly, Zarine spoke up. "At first, I was hopelessly inept at it, until my mom taught me. From the time she had sat by me and patiently taught me, I enjoyed it immensely." She had a sad smile on her face.  
  
"Can you play me something?" Ray asked. "You don't have to if you don't want to," he said hastily when she didn't say anything.  
  
She studied him for a long time. Finally, she answered, "For you, I will."  
  
She sat down, and her fingers began to move on the keys as if they had a mind of their own. She recognized the melody, it was her mom's favourite song.  
  
She began to sing softly, "When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;  
  
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;  
  
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,  
  
Until you come and sit awhile with me.  
  
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;  
  
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;  
  
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;  
  
You raise me up: To more than I can be.  
  
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;  
  
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;  
  
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;  
  
You raise me up: To more than I can be.  
  
There is no life ?no life without its hunger;  
  
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;  
  
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,  
  
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.  
  
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;  
  
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;  
  
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;  
  
You raise me up: To more than I can be.  
  
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;  
  
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;  
  
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;  
  
You raise me up: To more than I can be."  
  
Ray was spellbound by her voice for the second time in his life. When she finished, she sat there, stunned. She had vowed never to play the song or sing it or even think of it ever again. It used to be her favourite song too, up until the day her mother died.  
  
She felt like crying, but she struggled not to let tears spill out. What was wrong with her anyways? She was over her parents' death. She didn't want to remember. It hurt too much.  
  
"That was great," Ray complimented, unaware how the piano and the song had affected her.  
  
"Thanks," she said softly, getting a firmer grip on her emotions.  
  
The tour took a couple of hours. Kai's house was huge after all. "Until you know your way better, you shouldn't wander around," Ray said.  
  
"Why not?" Zarine asked.  
  
"Because the first time I stayed here, I got lost ten times trying to get to the kitchen from my room. Kai had to look for me every time," he told her with a laugh.  
  
"I certainly hope you know the way around it by now," she said amusedly.  
  
"Well, if I got lost now, at least I'll have you for company," he said. "I'll show you the outside tomorrow."  
  
"You mean this is like an estate?" she asked incredulously.  
  
"Yep, you'll love it," he said confidently.  
  
That night, when she was getting into bed, Ray knocked softly on the door.  
  
"Zarine, are you asleep yet?" his voice came from the other side.  
  
"No, come in," she said.  
  
Ray came through the door. "Get up early tomorrow, I want to show you something."  
  
"All right," she said yawning. "Good night."  
  
"You're going to send me away without a kiss?" he asked, pretending to be scandalized.  
  
She sighed, and kneeled on the bed. She gave him a soft peck on the lips. "Happy now?"  
  
"See you tomorrow," he said brightly before closing the door.  
  
Zarine turned off the lamp by the bed and settled down in the bed. Her eyes landed onto the portrait. She could see the woman's eyes clearly, since the moon gave light that night. She would never call the person in the picture her mother. Sure, she looked a lot like her mom, but her mind refused to accept that there might be a chance that it was her in the picture.  
  
She fell into an uneasy sleep. I mean, who could sleep well with a freaky painting staring at you all day? She dreamt that she was back at home again, and completely happy. She was just about to have a piano lesson with her mom and she always enjoyed them.  
  
"Zarine, play me something you have leant this week," her mom said, smiling. She smiled back, her mom always looked so beautiful when she smiled.  
  
She began to play, but she kept on making mistakes.  
  
"That's alright, start again," her mom said patiently.  
  
Zarine kept on trying but she just kept on getting worse and worse, until she couldn't remember what she was suppose to be playing at all.  
  
Her mom was furious. "What's wrong with you? Did you lie to me about practicing all week about the new song you've learnt?"  
  
Zarine answered in a small voice, "I did practice! I didn't lie to you, Mommy."  
  
"Play it then."  
  
"I can't!" she gave her mom an appealing look. Usually, her mom didn't get angry with her about such things.  
  
Her mom took a stick from no where and started hitting her with it.  
  
Zarine woke up with a start. "It was just a dream," she said to herself, breathing a sigh of relieve.  
  
Then she scowled. That, was one of the most ridiculous dream she had in her life. She looked at the painting. The lady seemed to be looking at her amusedly. She turned her gaze away and got the pillow beside her. Hugging it tightly, she fell asleep again.  
  
It seemed like that she had only close her eyes for an instant before Ray woke her up. "I'm still sleepy!" she said waspishly to him before covering her head with the blanket  
  
"Come on, you promised you would get up early today," Ray said, trying to get the blanket away.  
  
"You didn't tell me that it would be this early. The sun's not even up yet!" her voice sounded muffled from under the covers.  
  
He pleaded, "Please?? I want to show you something. I know you'll really like it."  
  
Her head poked out from the blankets. "This better be good!" She got up and put the pillow that she hugged to sleep on top of the other pillows.  
  
"Let me have a little privacy. I want to get dressed," she said.  
  
"There's a bathroom across the hall," Ray said.  
  
"Nice try, but your room is just through that door. Besides, this is my room, and I say you go somewhere else while I get changed," Zarine ordered.  
  
It wasn't long before they walked down the street. Zarine slipped her hand into her boyfriend's. "So where are we going?"  
  
Ray smiled mysteriously, and replied, "You'll see when we get there."  
  
He stopped beside a forest. "You have to close your eyes, and promise not to look until I say so, alright?"  
  
"Okay," she said reluctantly.  
  
"I'll have to carry you since we are going down some stairs," he told her. "Get onto my back, but don't peek! I don't want to spoil the surprise."

* * *

Any guess to the place where Ray is taking her??? 


	3. Chapter 2: Sunrise on the Terrace

Chapter Two – Sunrise on the Terrace  
  
Ray's POV  
  
Zarine hung onto me tightly. "Zarine, I won't drop you, so stop strangling me," I choked.  
  
"Oops, sorry," she said apologetically, and loosened her hold on me.  
  
I looked down, yes, perfect timing. When I got to the bottom, I set her down carefully.  
  
"You can open your eyes now," I said.  
  
Zarine slowly opened her eyes. She caught her breath, and stared at the image in front of her. The sun was slowly rising, making everything appear to have a red tinge. The ocean was calm and sparkling with no ships, or boats to contaminate the look of its pureness. I smiled at the look of wonder on her face.  
  
She walked to the edge, and kept on staring at the sun. She didn't break off the gaze when I put my arm around her neck and placed my chin on the top of her head.  
  
"I knew you'd like it," I said happily.  
  
She took one of my hands, which were dangling in front of her body, in her own. "Yes, it's beautiful," she said softly. We stood there, admiring the sun, enjoying the peaceful silence.  
  
"Thanks for making me get up," Zarine said, turning around to look at me, smiling warmly.  
  
When I met her gaze, my knees felt weak. She was so beautiful herself. The sun light reflected off of her silver hair, made her look radiant.  
  
I commented, "You should think about buying a bonnet for yourself some time. Your hair reflects the sun, you know."  
  
"Ray!" she said, offended. "If you don't like my hair, then don't look at me. There's no way I'm ever going to wear one."  
  
I chuckled. "I was just kidding. Stop being so serious all the time." I leaned down to press my lips against her soft ones.  
  
She broke it quickly. "What if someone walks by?" she asked, obviously flustered with my intentions.  
  
"Chill. It's so early, besides, people rarely come here," I assured her. I didn't give her a chance to protest before kissing her again. I pulled her closer until I could feel her heart hammering against my chest, beating wildly. It was an intense minute. We were both breathless when we broke off the kiss from the lack of air.  
  
Zarine pulled away, blushing furiously. She looked so cute. I put my arms around her again to hug her. "I love you," I whispered in her ear.  
  
"I love you too," she said softly.  
  
"Let's go and have breakfast," I suggested, letting go of her.  
  
"Okay, where should we go?" she asked, a trace of pink still visible in her cheeks.  
  
"Let's go to Kenny's house," I proposed. "His parents run a noodle house downstairs." We began to walk up the stairs.  
  
"So Kenny lives in a cool house too?" she asked. "The next thing you're going to tell me is that Max lives above a shop!"  
  
"Uh, he does," I told her.  
  
"WHAT?!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Yep," I said, "His parents a divorced. His dad owns a hobby shop, and his mom is a researcher for the BBA."  
  
My girlfriend said enviously, "It's not fair! All of you live in a cool place!"  
  
"I live in a village, remember? How is that cool?" I asked.  
  
"Sure, it's cool!" she answered. "You live in a place of solitude, surrounded by nature. Now, how can that not be sweet? I used to live in a small town, not boring, but not exactly exciting either. It was ordinary."  
  
"Now you live in a cool place too," I said.  
  
"Yes, but...it's not the same. It's not my house," she said, looking a bit depressed, "and I can't stay there forever."  
  
I didn't know what to say. What could I say? Instead, I put my arm around her shoulders to let her know that I'll always be there for her.

* * *

Normal POV  
  
Later in the morning, the Bladebreakers were all at Tyson's dojo, including Hilary, who said that she needed some exercise after staying at home for three days. In truth, she wanted to make sure Zarine didn't try to make a move on Tyson.  
  
"What should we do today?" Max groaned. He was so bored. "I need sugar....sugar...sugar...sugar..."  
  
"Ice cream?" Zarine suggested hopefully.  
  
"Don't you ever get sick of it?" Tyson asked.  
  
"Nope, I've only been eating it for fourteen years," she answered.  
  
"That's like your whole life!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Oh, has it really been that long?" she said, mildly surprised.  
  
Hilary was glaring daggers at the silver haired girl. Zarine is trying to get Tyson, she just knew it.  
  
"Why don't we go and get ice cream and decide what to do," Kenny suggested.  
  
"Sounds like a good plan!" Zarine said.  
  
Tyson rolled his eyes. "You will go with anything to get ice cream."  
  
She shrugged, "Well, a girl's gotta get her sugar from somewhere."  
  
On the way there, Zarine walked with Ray, naturally. "Guess where my new favorite place is," she asked her boyfriend.  
  
"Where?"  
  
"The terrace!" she said, smiling brightly at him.  
  
He smiled too. "Where's your old favourite place then?"  
  
"The ice cream parlor," she answered. "Duh!"  
  
"I should've known," he laughed, putting an arm around her waist.  
  
Hilary watched this, feeling a bit confused. "Hey, Max. What's up with Ray and Zarine?"  
  
"Didn't you know? They're going out," Max replied. "They make a perfect couple."  
  
Watching Ray and Zarine made him wish that Mariam was there too. She promised to visit him in the summer, but he missed her already.  
  
[Okay, then she isn't a threat to me if she's got Ray already.] thought Hilary.  
  
They all ordered ice cream at the ice cream parlor, except Kai.  
  
"Kai, why aren't you eating ice cream like the rest of us are?" Zarine asked.  
  
"I don't like it," Kai answered.  
  
She was mortified. "How can you not like ice cream?! It's the BEST!"  
  
He snapped, "I just don't, alright?"  
  
"Don't have to be so touchy about everything," she muttered.  
  
Then, Kenny called, "Hey, Carrie."  
  
A girl around Zarine's height walked over, with strawberry ice cream in one hand, and a metallic red laptop in another. She had straight bright coppery red hair down to her shoulders. Her almond shaped eyes were hazel. "Hi, guys!" she said. When she spotted Zarine, she asked, "Who's this?"  
  
"Hi," the silver haired girl said, "I'm Zarine."  
  
Carrie nodded politely, "I'm Carrie."  
  
"Where's Jewels?" Hilary asked.  
  
"She's at home, probably still sleeping," Carrie answered. Catching the puzzled look on Zarine's face, she added, "Jewels is my twin sister."  
  
"Is Jewels her real name?" Zarine questioned curiously.  
  
"She is known as Jewels to everyone," Carrie replied. When she saw Kai, she demanded, "Hey, why aren't you eating ice cream?  
  
"He said, 'I don't like it.' when I asked him," Zarine said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"How can you NOT like ice cream?" Carrie asked, shocked. "Ice cream is the best!"  
  
"That's what I said!" Zarine exclaimed.  
  
"Great minds think alike. Wait till I tell Jewels that Mr. Sourpuss doesn't like ice cream," said Carrie. Her eyes were sparkling mischievously at the idea.  
  
"Oh no, you don't," Kai growled.  
  
"Maybe I will and maybe I won't," she said, giving him an evil smile. "I better go and wake Jewels up."  
  
"Bye!" the Bladebreakers said in unison.  
  
"See ya Champies later!" she called, before walking out.  
  
"Uh, Champies??" Zarine said, confused.  
  
"That's a nickname she gave us after we won the World Championship," Tyson explained. "God, I hate it when she calls us that." He shuddered. "I suppose we have to put up with it everyday when we go to school." 


	4. Chapter 3: White Tiger

Hello!  
  
0bss3ssi0n: Why do you always say 'ahahaha'?? I'm just curious. Kai is going to like ice cream later in the story. As to the cause of it, my lips are sealed about it.  
  
Kit-Kat Angel Wolf: What did you mean it made your heart hurt? What made it hurt? I'm really confused because there were no sad parts in the last chapter or any of the chapters so far.  
  
Clio: It was the sunrise, not sunset. I'm glad you get to see G-Revolution in England, but I live in Canada, so I'll have to wait still.  
  
Nise-angel: Looks like you have something in common with Zarine. She LOVES cookie dough ice cream. So do I! Ice-cream....(dreamy expression)  
  
YamikaiemiBlackAngelMaritamai: I personally like this plot better than the last one, but I've only written three chapters, well, counting this one, four, as oppose to the first one which had forty...get my point?

* * *

Chapter Three – White Tiger  
  
In the middle of the night, Ray was woken up by a scream. He bolted up, and hurried out of bed to go to Zarine's room. He was sure it was her who had been screaming, "NO!"  
  
He saw her in a sitting position with her head in her hands. Her shoulders were shaking. Walking to the bed to sit beside her, he put his arms around her.  
  
"Did I wake you?" she asked, raising her head to look at him. He could see tears on her face.  
  
"Yeah, I heard you screaming," he answered.  
  
"Sorry," she mumbled, looking down at her hands.  
  
"It's okay," he assured her. "So what's wrong?"  
  
"It's just a dream," she replied. "I don't want to talk about it."  
  
"Okay, but I'm staying here with you tonight," he said firmly, wiping the tears off her face.  
  
Zarine nodded, and lay back down. Ray got into bed beside her, and kissed her on the forehead. "Go to sleep now."  
  
She cuddled against him for comfort. She tried to, but she couldn't sleep. She could see her parents dying every time she closed her eyes.  
  
"Someone put them in a cage and burned them," she said suddenly.  
  
"What was that?" Ray asked, confused.  
  
"My parents. Someone put them in a cage to burn them. They made me watch them die," she said, a sob escaping. "They were screaming how much they hated me because it was my fault that they were dying."  
  
"It was just a dream," Ray said firmly. "It was nothing more than a dream." He drew her closer to him to console her.  
  
"I'm glad I got you now," she said, and gave him a light kiss.  
  
"Why do you never give me more than a peck on the lips?" he asked, a little disappointed.  
  
"One, I'm too short. Two, we're always with the Bladebreakers and I'm not about to make out with you in front of them. I would've just now, except we're in a bed, and it wouldn't be right," she explained.  
  
"Oh," he said, and yawned. "Good night. Have a good sleep."  
  
Zarine nodded and closed her eyes. The next time she opened them, it was morning, and the rays of sunshine shone through the window. Ray was still asleep, and had an arm around her. She carefully moved his arm and got out of bed. She went down to the kitchen and began to cook breakfast.  
  
When Ray woke up and found Zarine gone, he swore. What was she thinking? He had told her not to go anywhere without him. He hoped she didn't get lost. He went to the kitchen, and found her cooking. He couldn't help but felt relieved, and a little irritated.  
  
"Why didn't you wake me up?" Ray's voice came from behind her, sounding annoyed. "I told you not to go anywhere in this house without me."  
  
"Well, I know my way here, so what's the point? Besides you were still sleeping," she replied, not bothering to turn around to look at him.  
  
"Look at me when I talk to you," Ray said.  
  
She said calmly, "In case you haven't noticed, I am cooking. I don't get why you're so worked up about it anyways."  
  
"Maybe because I was worried about you," he snapped.  
  
She sighed, "I don't know how many times I have to say this to people, but I can take care of myself. It's not like I'm a baby, so stop treating me like I'm a three year old."  
  
"Why the hell are you cooking? There are chefs here," Kai said, coming in.  
  
"I like to cook," the small girl replied nonchalantly.  
  
"Well, then, what am I paying them for?" he demanded.  
  
Zarine shrugged. "How should I know? You're the one who's paying for them. How many eggs would you like?"  
  
"I'm not going to eat," he snapped before walking out again.  
  
She muttered curses under her breath as she finished cooking breakfast. What was up with Ray and Kai today? She and Ray both ate in silence. Ray was glaring daggers at the stove, still put out with his girlfriend. When she finished her food, she began to walk out.  
  
"Just where do you think you're going?" Ray demanded.  
  
"Talk a walk or something. No point in just staying here," she replied.  
  
"Not without me," he told her. "You're going to get lost."  
  
Sighing, she sat back down across from him, and waited for him to finish.  
  
"You're not still mad, are you?" she asked. "Anyways, I don't get why you even should get mad in the first place."  
  
"Like I said before, I was worried," he answered.  
  
"The worst that could have happened was that I got lost, and you and Kai will have to look for me. I came here on my own, without making one wrong turn," she said.  
  
"Just tell me where you're going next time," he said. "Now where do you want to go?"  
  
"I don't know. You said you were going to show me around outside yesterday, but you never did," said Zarine, in an accusing tone.  
  
Ray said guiltily, "Sorry, I forgot. I'll show you around now."  
  
They walked outside. There was a big fountain in front of the house. Ray led Zarine around the corner. Little cluster of trees dotted over the fields, creating shade from the hot sun. Around the back, a huge swimming pool was sparkling invitingly in the sun.  
  
"You never told me that Kai had a swimming pool!" Zarine exclaimed. "I want to jump into it now."  
  
"Then why don't you?" Ray asked, and pushed her into the water.  
  
"RAY!!!" she yelled when her head broke the surface. "WAIT TILL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!" She pushed herself out of the water and began to chase him.  
  
Ray looked back over his shoulder and was surprise to see her not far behind him. She was fast, but not fast enough to catch him. He hid behind a bush. The fuming girl stalked around silently, trying to look for her boyfriend. She smiled grimly, thinking of what she'd do when she got his hands on him.  
  
Ray frowned when he didn't hear any noise of Zarine ripping through leaves to look for him. He decided to make a break for it back into the house. He looked behind his shoulders as he ran, and bumped into his girlfriend, and fell down on top of her.  
  
"You okay?" he asked, getting up.  
  
"Yes, I'm okay, but you won't be!" she replied, grabbing one of his hands to pull him back down. "What did you do that for?'  
  
"You really can't talk a joke, can you?" he asked, sighing. He didn't mean to make her all upset with him. It was all in good fun.  
  
Zarine was taken aback. Was she really so paranoid about jokes and pranks now? She remembered playing a whole bunch of practical jokes on people, and being the victim of them. She had lots of fun. Did she really change that much since her parents died? No, they didn't just die, they were murdered. And it was all because of her...  
  
"Hello? You alright?" Ray asked, waving a hand in front of her.  
  
Zarine snapped out of her reverie. "Sorry, I just zoned out there, I guess. Let's go back in now." She pulled Ray up along with her.  
  
Studying her face, Ray frowned. Something was not quite right with Zarine. Maybe he shouldn't have said that she couldn't take a joke. He couldn't think of anything else that could have made her mood go down in the dumps.  
  
"I'm going to go change," she mumbled to him, before letting go of his hand.  
  
Ray sighed. Even though he loved her, he couldn't help but wish she wasn't such a mood swing.  
  
Zarine sighed continuously as she got changed. Why couldn't she ever do something right? Or make someone happy? All she did was either worry them, or make them annoyed with her. She had changed so much from that cheerful girl to this totally different person that she didn't even know. How could she not have noticed?  
  
She looked at the portrait. [I don't know anything anymore! I don't know even know myself!] she thought miserably. It wasn't supposed to be like this. She thought that once she and Ray were together, everything will be perfect. She laughed silently at herself for thinking up such an absurd notion.  
  
When ten minutes have passed, Ray knocked on her door.  
  
"Leave me alone!" her voice said.  
  
Ray ignored it, and went in anyways.  
  
"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize it was you," she said, smiling at him.  
  
He felt suspicious. She was faking it, she couldn't have recovered that fast from whatever it was that made her sad only moments before.  
  
"Why didn't you come to my room? I was getting lonely," he said.  
  
"I know, the rooms are so big in this house. I get lonely too at night," she said. "I used to live in a small room, my brother's and my parents' were on either side of mine."  
  
She felt a lump in her throat at the mention of her former life. This wasn't supposed to happen! She was over it! It was in the past! She felt angry at herself, and suppressed the emotions rising up inside of her. Those feelings were useless and will only get into the way. They will only make her weak, and seem like a burden on her friends.  
  
"Let's go and have ice cream," Ray suggested, knowing that ice cream will cheer her up.  
  
"Yeah!" Zarine said, throwing her arms around him. "That would be so cool!"  
  
"Don't get so excited there," he laughed.  
  
"What else am I suppose to do? Cry because you offered me ice cream?" she asked.

* * *

At the ice cream parlor...  
  
The salesperson handed Ray two medium sized cups of ice cream, one was cookie dough and the other was chocolate. Ray walked over to Zarine and put the chocolate ice cream in front of her.  
  
"Ray, I wanted cookie dough, remember?" she said.  
  
"Yeah, I know," he answered. He scooped up some cookie dough ice cream and held the spoon out to her. "Open up," he said, smiling.  
  
His girlfriend gladly accepted it. "How are you going to eat yours if you insist on feeing me?"  
  
"I was hoping that someone will return the favor before it melts," he replied.  
  
"All right," she giggled. This was even better than licking an ice cream cone!  
  
Ray smirked when he saw all the envious looks on other guys' faces. He returned to feeding Zarine. She was smiling and giggling happily. "We should do this every time!" she said.  
  
Ray smiled. "Sure, if you want to."  
  
They walked around town after their ice cream. When they passed by a toy store with lots of stuffed animals, Zarine dragged Ray into there. Zarine would occasionally hug various toys while they walked up and down the aisles.  
  
"This is so cute!" she said, hugging a koala bear. "I used to have so many stuffed animals on my bed, keeping me company at night."  
  
"Oh my gosh! Doesn't this look like Driger??" she asked, pointing to a section of a shelf with many white tigers.  
  
"Not really," Ray answered.  
  
"Can you get it for me?" she asked. "Height issues, you know."  
  
He stood up on his tip toes and brought one down for her.  
  
"It does look like Driger, except it's white!" she insisted.  
  
He said doubtfully, "A little, but the real thing is better."  
  
"Well, of course the real thing is better, but this is cute! It's so squishy and soft."  
  
Ray could tell that she really liked the tiger from the way she hugged it and kissed its forehead. "Come on, let's go," he said, tugging on her hand.  
  
"Aren't you going to put it back for me?" she asked.  
  
"It's not going back up there, it's coming with us," he told her. "It can keep you company at night. You said that you get lonely, didn't you?"  
  
"SWEET!" she cheered. "Thanks so much!"  
  
"Aren't you going to give me a hug? I mean you hugged so many toys..." he said, but was cut off when she hugged him so tight he could hardly breathe.  
  
"There, I gave you the best hug I could," she said when she let go.  
  
"Yeah, but you nearly killed me there," he said, rubbing his sides.  
  
"Want another one to make you feel better?" she asked enthusiastically.  
  
"Uh, no thanks," he replied. He didn't want to have his sides even more bruised. 


	5. Chapter 4: First Day of School

Chapter Four – First Day of School  
  
Zarine woke up with a start. It was a minute before she remembered where she was. Breathing a sigh of relieve, she told herself, it was just another dream. It was another dream about her parents dying, while she had to watch helplessly. Hugging the tiger close to her, she felt better. She smiled in the dark, Ray was so sweet. He bought the tiger for her, so she wouldn't be lonely. Turning onto her side, she fell asleep, thinking about her boyfriend.  
  
In the middle of the night, Ray woke up. He didn't feel so well, but he made himself tiptoed into Zarine's room to check on her. He hoped she wasn't having bad dreams again. Seeing the happy smile on her face, he felt relieved. At least she was having a good sleep. He smiled when he saw the tiger in her arms.  
  
"Sweet dreams," he whispered before he went back to his room.  
  
Zarine opened the door that connected her room to Ray's. Seeing that Ray was still sleeping, she went over to wake him up. She grabbed his shoulder to shake him awake, but when she felt his skin, she quickly withdrew my hand. She blushed, knowing that her boyfriend probably just had his boxers on.  
  
[Get a grip on yourself.] she scolded herself mentally. [You aren't doing anything wrong; you are just waking him up, for goodness' sake!]  
  
Taking his shoulder firmly, she shook him awake. "Ray, it's time to get up," she said.  
  
"I want to sleep," he moaned, turning away from me. He coughed a few times.  
  
"Are you sick?" she asked, concerned.  
  
"Probably, my head feels like it's going to split in half and my throat is sore," he replied.  
  
"Then I'll stay here with you today," she offered.  
  
"Isn't he awake yet?" Kai asked impatiently at the door.  
  
"Ray's sick," Zarine answered. "I'm going to stay here with him."  
  
"No, you're not," he said. "You're coming to school."  
  
"But who's going to take care of my sick man?" she questioned.  
  
"The servants can. That's what they're here for," he said, "Now let's go."  
  
"Just go. I can stay here for the day. It won't be that bad," Ray told Zarine, and squeezing her hand comfortingly.  
  
She gave in. "All right! I'll go. I'll be down in a minute."  
  
Kai grunted and left. "Get lots of rest, okay?" the petite girl said to her boyfriend.  
  
"I will," he promised.  
  
She leaned over to peck him lightly on the lips, but Ray stopped her. "I'm sick, remember? I don't want to pass any germs onto you."  
  
"I can't care less," she replied. She kissed him before he could stop her. "There, I'll see you after school."  
  
Ray scowled as she closed the door behind her. How could she manage to be so maddening, yet so lovable at the same time?  
  
Zarine made her way to the office, swallowing hard. She wished that Ray was there with her. Why did he have to get sick on the first day?? People in the hallway were staring and looking curiously at her.  
  
[They probably think that I'm an alien from outer space.] she thought.  
  
She opened the door to the office and saw someone unexpected.  
  
"Grandpa! What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised. He couldn't have been taking Tyson to school, could he?  
  
"I'm here to see if there are any problems for you and Ray on your first day," he answered. Noticing that she was alone, he asked, "Where's your honeybun?"  
  
"He's sick today," she said, looking sad. "He should be resting right now, at least, he better be."  
  
"Zarine, please go into the principle's office," the secretary said.  
  
Zarine knocked on the door of the principle's office. "Come in," a deep voice said. She opened the door and walked in.  
  
"Hello, Zarine. Mr. Dickenson had talked to me about putting you into Gr. 10. I didn't like the idea, but I came up with an alternative. You will be in Gr. 10, but by the end of the year, you must have a B average to move onto Gr. 11," he told her.  
  
"All right," she said, relieved. At least, she would have friends in some of her classes.  
  
"Off you go, classes had started already," he said.  
  
Zarine found her locker without too much difficulty, but opening it was another matter. How were you supposed to do this? Turn it past zero how many times? She gave a sigh of frustration.  
  
"Need help with this?" someone asked. She looked up, and saw a guy with black hair and smoldering brown eyes. He was a head taller than she was, and was looking at her amusedly.  
  
Zarine wondered what could be so funny. She didn't make a fool of herself already, did she? "How do you get it open?" she asked.  
  
He taught her how and left. It was only until she got out her books that she realized that she didn't ask him his name.  
  
[I'll find out later.] she thought. [Now where is room 205?]  
  
She walked around and searched for it. It was ten minutes before she knew that she was hopelessly lost. Suddenly, someone familiar turned the corner and came into view.  
  
"AH!! I'M SO LATE!!!" Tyson panted.  
  
Zarine stopped him. "Yeah what?" he asked, running on the spot.  
  
"Where's Room 205?" she asked urgently. "I have to get to my class."  
  
"I'm going there, come on!" he said. He grabbed her arm and ran at top speed with her to the class.

* * *

??'s POV  
  
It was just like any other day with Mr. Nowak blabbing something about history. I didn't bother to listen. I knew I would pass the tests with flying colors anyway. It was too easy.  
  
I was just doodling on my binder when Tyson opened the door and skidded into class with a girl in toll. I looked at the girl with interest. She was short, with long, curly silver hair. Her eyes were a deep sea green color. She was really pretty, and judging the looks from the others, they thought so too. Everyone stared at them. The small girl reddened, knowing what a bad impression that was, coming into class like that.  
  
"He's late again," Hilary said, standing up. "You should know better than to barge into class like that. You just interrupted the teacher!"  
  
"Hilary, sit down," Mr. Nowak said from behind the desk.  
  
"Yes sir," she said, before taking her seat again.  
  
Sometimes, I thought that Hilary was a typical military person. She followed orders from superiors without question.  
  
"Tyson, go take a seat," the teacher ordered.  
  
To me, the silver haired girl was extremely nervous. She clutched her skirt tightly, looking anxiously at Kai.  
  
"So you're the new student in class?" Mr. Nowak asked.  
  
"Yes," she answered in a surprisingly steady voice, despite her appearance of anxiety.  
  
"Tell us something about you," the teacher said.  
  
I rolled my eyes. Great, it was going to be one of those stupid introductions again.  
  
"I'm Zarine Alaina Star. I'm on the Bladebreakers. My home was Hong Kong...and..." she trailed off, not sure what to say next. She turned her eyes on me, and a puzzled look appeared on her face, as if she had seen me somewhere before. I narrowed my eyes, why the hell was she looking at me like that? She tore her eyes off when the teacher spoke again.  
  
"Is there any questions that you would like to ask Miss Zarine here?" the teacher asked the class.  
  
"Yeah," Gavin said, raising his hand.  
  
I snorted. It didn't take a genius to guess what Gavin was going to ask.  
  
"Will you go out with me?" Gavin asked. "Please, you're like the sun rising up in the darkness...."  
  
Zarine turned an even brighter shade of red, while everyone laughed. "Stop it Gavin, she's taken!" Kai said, irritated. He stood up, and demanded, "Does anyone have any questions that are not stupid for her to answer?"  
  
Everyone stopped laughing instantly. No one dared to mess with Hiwatari. No one, except me that is.  
  
"Mr. Hiwatari, sit down. Zarine, you can sit beside him," Mr. Nowak said, pointing to the empty seat next to Kai.  
  
Zarine looked relieve to get away from the front of the class, where everyone's attention was on her. She sat down near the middle Like that mattered. People kept on turning back and looking at her. After Kai sent death glares around the room, no one was brave enough to look at them, except me of course.  
  
I stared at them until Kai looked at my way, annoyed. His eyes narrowed dangerously. I smirked at his reaction, and stuck my tongue out at him. Unfortunately, the teacher saw this.  
  
"Miss Satsuki, detention after school for making faces in class," he said.  
  
I sighed, just great. Another detention, this was my fifth one in two weeks. I stuck my tongue out at the teacher when he wasn't looking. I looked amusedly at Kai, he was smirking. He thought that Mr. Nowak was an asshole too.  
  
Even though Kai and I never talked anymore, we always know what each other was thinking. We used to be friends and were called the Wonder Couple. Not that we were going out or anything. That all changed about a year ago, and we haven't talked to each other since then. I grimaced at the memory and couldn't help but think what a jerk Kai could be sometimes. He avoided me after that because he couldn't stand to be in debt to another person. Who did he think I was? Like I cared if he ever returned the favor, we were supposed to be friends.  
  
Pushing him out of my mind, I returned to doodling in my book. It was another forty minutes before I heard the bell ring. Everyone scrambled out of class, who could blame them? An hour of the history's teacher's rumbling about the First Nations people was torture.  
  
It turned out that the new girl had Math with me too. This time, she sat with Kenny because Kai was in Science. Once again, I was bored out of my mind. Instead of listening, I did the stupid homework that Nowak assigned us last class.  
  
I looked at the questions. What was a sweat bath? What did the Fist Nations people eat? What was their log homes called? I sighed. What did the old geezer take us for anyway? Homework was supposed to be challenging, not easy stuff like this.  
  
When Miss Cherry had finally stopped babbling, she assigned us questions to do. She gave us the last twenty minutes to finish them. I was done in five. I looked around the room to see what other people were doing. Hilary was still doing her work, totally absorbed in it. Tyson was sleeping, Max was eating candy...Behind me, Kenny was explaining to Zarine how to do the questions.  
  
Was she dumb or something? Miss Cherry just spent the last forty minutes of the class teaching us. She was probably nothing more than just a pretty face with dung for a brain.  
  
I looked around in English for that new Bladebreaker girl. I couldn't help but feel irritated when Kenny repeated Miss Cherry's speech, word for word to Zarine. At lunch, I saw Gavin and his little friends pinning Zarine against the wall. Didn't they ever get bored of trapping helpless girls? I walked down the hall, and heard what they were saying.  
  
"Let me go. I'm taken," the girl said, trying to wriggle out of his grasp.  
  
"I know, but your boyfriend is not here now," Gavin said, tightening his hold on her.  
  
I stopped in front of them and said in a bored tone, "Just let her go. Can't you see she doesn't want to go out with you?"  
  
"Butt out," one of his followers said.  
  
"Let her go!" I ordered, my eyes flashing dangerously.  
  
Gavin didn't let go of her wrist, but looked a little worried. "Fuck off!" he spat at me finally. I raised a cool eyebrow. He must really like this girl to have the nerve to risk facing me after school when I will hunt him down to beat the crap out of him. I did have a reputation to maintain.  
  
"Parkinson! Let go of her at once!" Kai demanded, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere to stand beside me. "You know the consequences if you don't."  
  
Gavin looked sulky, and reluctantly let go of Zarine. I had to admit he was daring, but even he wasn't fool enough to disobey us face to face. I smirked, looks like they still haven't forgotten the terror of the Wonder Couple yet.

* * *

You'll find out who she is in the next chapter!!


	6. Chapter 5: Waffles

Chapter Five – Waffles  
  
"Thanks," Kai said to the girl with bright, coppery red hair. Zarine looked at him, she was sure she had never heard him talk to anyone in that kind of tone before. It held respect, quiet respect for this girl who had just saved her from that creep, Gavin.  
  
"You're welcome," she said before leaving them standing in the hallway.  
  
"Who was that?" Zarine asked.  
  
Kai had a faraway look in his eyes, looking at the spot where that girl had been only a moment ago. "That was Jewels," he answered.  
  
"Jewels? Carrie's twin sister?" she asked disbelievingly.  
  
"Yep," Kai answered, and motioned for her to follow him. "Why are you so surprised?"  
  
"First of all, they look nothing alike. Sure, their hair is the same. Jewels is at least a head taller than Carrie. Second, they don't seem like they are even a bit alike. Carrie's you know, warm, and bubbly, but Jewels seem distant," she said.  
  
"Well, they're as different as twins can be," Kai said.  
  
"What took you so long?" Max questioned as they sat down with the rest of the gang in the cafeteria.  
  
"Gavin was hitting on her," Kai replied, and got out his lunch, which were sandwiches.  
  
"Ah, well, he had hit on every girl in the school," Max remarked. "Anyone want some Cherry Blasters?"  
  
"ME!!!" Tyson answered thickly, with bits of lettuce on his chin.  
  
"Tyson! At least eat decently when you are in public!" Hilary scolded.  
  
"I don't need a lecture right now, Hilary," he said absently, and continued eating his submarine sandwich.  
  
"You don't need lettuce on your chin either," Zarine said dryly. "One of these days, you're going to die choking on your food."  
  
"Well, at least I'll die happy," Tyson retorted.  
  
"We'll see," she said, munching on a cookie.  
  
"Why were you late again today?" the brunette demanded. "This is the whatever time you've been late this year."  
  
"Get off my case! I just overslept, besides Grandpa didn't bother to wake me today," Tyson said.  
  
"You are fifteen, you should be able to get up early enough for school," she said, frustrated.  
  
"Hilary, shut it already!"  
  
"Don't tell me to shut up!"  
  
"What am I suppose to do? You are screeching in my ear while I want to have a peaceful lunch for once!"  
  
"Well, maybe if you didn't have so many faults, I wouldn't be doing this!"  
  
"WHO TOLD YOU TO ANYWAY? I CERTAINLY DIDN'T!"  
  
"I JUST WANT TO HELP!"  
  
"WELL, YOU AREN'T! SO JUST GET OUT OF MY FACE!"  
  
Max sighed, shaking his head. "I didn't expect it to happen so soon today."  
  
"You mean, this is a regular thing?" Zarine asked.  
  
"Ya. They yell at each other everyday at lunch," Kenny answered. "It always ends up with one of them storming off and one of them here, sulking. Usually, Hilary is the one who walks away."  
  
Zarine spotted Carrie talking with the dark haired guy that helped her with her locker that morning. Carrie had a happy look on her face when she came over. She winced when she saw Tyson and Hilary yelling at each other. "Have they started already?"  
  
"Yeah, but I think it'll be over soon," Kenny said.  
  
Sure enough, Hilary yelled, "YOU'RE SUCH A JERK!" before storming away, fuming.  
  
Tyson sat down, glaring at her shrinking figure. The submarine sandwich lay forgotten beside him.  
  
"I would expect steam to be coming out of her ears by now," Carrie remarked.  
  
"Carrie, who was that person you were just talking to?" Zarine asked.  
  
"That was Leo, the school's second hottest guy," Carrie answered in a dreamy voice. "He's a sex god."  
  
"Who's the hottest one here?" asked Zarine curiously.  
  
Carrie replied, "Kai."  
  
The silver haired girl's eyes went wide with surprise. "Then why doesn't he have a girlfriend?"  
  
"Because Mr. Sourpuss doesn't want one," Carrie answered, making a face at Kai. She said in a deep voice, mimicking Kai, "They all sluts, why would I want to go out with any of them."  
  
The girls laughed. Kai's eyelid twitched, irritated with the girls' conversation.  
  
Carrie continued as if she hadn't noticed. "I'd say he's just waiting for a certain someone to tell him that she likes him before confessing that he has feelings for her."  
  
"Mind stop talking as if I'm not here?" Kai growled.  
  
"Kai, who's the lucky girl?" Tyson asked, joining in.  
  
"There's no girl!" Kai snapped. "There never was!"  
  
"Whatever," the red haired girl said in a skeptical tone.

* * *

After school, when Zarine went down to the front doors, Kai was already there, standing against the wall as usual, waiting for her.  
  
"Let's go!" she said brightly.  
  
"Hiwatari, is she your girlfriend?" someone asked from behind. "Because it sure seems like it." Lots of girls stopped to listen to Gavin. Kai Hiwatari, the school's hottest guy, had a girlfriend?  
  
"It really is none of your business who her boyfriend is," Kai replied before walking away. Zarine followed after him, excited to go back to Kai's house and see Ray. It seemed like forever since she was last with him, even though it had only been six hours.  
  
Ray was watching TV in his room when Zarine burst in with a bowl of ice cream in her hand. She put the bowl down and gave him a hug. "So how are you?"  
  
"I'm better," he said, coughing a little. "The headache is gone, and my throat is not as sore. So how was your first day?" He gestured for her to sit down beside him on his bed.  
  
Zarine leaned back onto some pillows, eating ice cream. "It was okay. First, I couldn't get my locker open because I didn't know how, but then this guy, Leo, came along and told me. Then, I got lost. Luckily, Tyson, who was late, came around the corner and took me along with him to our class. I wished he didn't drag me into the class like that though," she said, wincing at the memory.  
  
"Sounds like you had an exciting day," Ray remarked. "Mine was boring. All I did was watching TV all day."  
  
Zarine asked, "Do you think you can help me with math? I don't get any of it. Kenny tried to explain it, but he was just repeating the teacher."  
  
"Sure, why don't you go and get it?" he said.  
  
"My backpack is in the kitchen, I'll go get it," she said.  
  
Ten minutes later, she was sitting beside Ray with her binder on her knees. Ray had to explain it to her several times before she understood.  
  
"I'm so hopeless at math," she sighed. "It's my worst subject ever." She stared moodily at the TV. "Why do you have a TV and a computer in your room? It's not fair, I don't have either of them."  
  
Her boyfriend said defensively, "You don't have to get all jealous. If you want one, just ask Kai. He's got several of them in the house."

* * *

At four o'clock, Jewels finally got out of her detention. She hoped she wouldn't get into trouble for the rest of the year. Detention was torture. Today, she had to help the creepy janitor to clean up the teachers' lounge. She shuddered at the thought of being stuck with him again alone for another hour.  
  
When she got home, she found Carrie playing with their little white puppy, Waffles, in the front yard. Waffles ran up to Jewels with her tail wagging when she spotted her owner.  
  
"Hey, honey," she said, petting Waffles' soft white fur.  
  
"So what kind of ice cream would you like today?" her sister asked.  
  
"Strawberry," Jewels answered without hesitation. She had been craving for it all afternoon.  
  
"Let's go into our kitchen for our daily ritual, then," Carrie said.  
  
"All right," the taller twin said. Before she closed the door, she called, "Waffles, come on!" Her dog ran to her, with a stick in her mouth, her eyes pleading. "Not right now, dear. I'll play with you later."  
  
Waffle's ears drooped but she dropped the stick and went into the house obediently. "Good girl," Jewels said, and picked her up to carry her into the kitchen.  
  
"So I heard you got yet another detention from Nowak," the hazel eyed girl said, placing a bowl of strawberry ice cream in front of her.  
  
She watched her sister scooped some chocolate ice cream into a bowl. "Yeah, he's such an asshole." Jewels imitated Mr. Nowak's voice, "Miss Satsuki, a detention after school for making faces in class."  
  
"Who were you making a face at?" Carrie asked, sitting down at the round table.  
  
"Hiwatari," her sister answered.  
  
"Why do you never call him Kai now?" she asked.  
  
"Why should I? We never even talk anymore. It's not like we're still friends," Jewels said, in a careless tone.  
  
"I don't understand why you stopped talking to each other. Things were going along great with you to. Then, the next thing I know, you two were avoiding each other," said Carrie.  
  
"It wouldn't even have happened if he wasn't such a jerk," Jewels said, getting annoyed with her sister.  
  
"You can't put all the blame on him. What about you? Why didn't you try talking to him?" Carrie pressed on.  
  
"Don't you think I've tried? But Hiwatari had made it clear that he didn't want me near him. If you think I'm desperate enough to continue sticking around him, then you know me less than I thought," Jewels said, her violet eyes angry.  
  
"Why don't you try again now?" Carrie suggested gently. "Don't you like him?"  
  
"Sure, I still like him as my friend, but that doesn't mean we have to be friends. Our friendship had ended a year ago. His stupid pride wouldn't let us be friends again," Jewels said, before walking out, ending the conversation.  
  
Carrie sighed. She knew that Jewels was still hurt by Kai abruptly ending their friendship. She had to make things right between them again.  
  
Jewels collapsed onto her soft bed. The detention had drained her energy. She looked out at the bright sunshine and watched the butterflies flying outside in the backyard. It was almost the end of the school year. This year had seemed much longer than the last. She snorted, it was probably because of Kai. Last year, they had been known as the Wonder Couple, terrorizing the others. Maybe not terrorizing, but what they wanted, they got. However, this year, it was _only_ Jewels, and it was _only_ Kai.  
  
The bedroom door suddenly opened wider, and Waffles came running in, and jumped onto the bed. The puppy licked Jewels' face, and lay beside her. Jewels put an arm around her white puppy. She was so cute.  
  
Carrie came in and smiled at the sight. "Have you met Zarine?"  
  
"Yeah, she's in two of my classes today, Math and History. Gavin tried hitting on her today," Jewels said.  
  
"Well, I guess I should have been expecting that. He's hit on every girl in the school. I remembered when he tried to corner me in the girls' bathroom," Carrie said, and made a face of disgust. "And remember when he tried to hit on you?"  
  
"Yeah, he was dumb enough to do it in front of Kai too. Kai gave him a black eye before he finished the first sentence," Jewels said, laughing at the memory. "He even told Gavin that he would kill him if he looked at me the wrong way. Then when people asked him why he had a black eye, he told them that he ran into a door!"

* * *

After getting off the phone with her family, Zarine returned to her homework. Okay, maybe they weren't her real family, but they were the closest thing to one. She could still hear her brother telling her not to let Ray push her around. As if her boyfriend ever did that.  
  
It was ten before she finished. Yawning, she got ready for bed. She was just about to turn off her lamp when something caught her eye. It was the wooden box on the other night table. She had never bothered to open it before. Carefully, taking it from the table, she put it on her lap. She opened it. It had white satin on the inside and contained a small notebook that looked a lot like a diary. Taking it out, she gasped...and turned pale. On the bottom of the box was......

* * *

Ha! I'm so evil...ending it at a cliffy! Muhahaha! Review!!! I named the chapter after the dog because I didn't know what else to put down. 


	7. Chapter 6: A Walk on the Beach

Hey! Sorry for the wait. I had a little trouble with this chapter.  
  
Nise-angel, you asked me what province I live in some time ago. I live in BC. The bottom corner of it actually, by the coast. It's so nice here, big backyards and quiet streets. The boarder to the states is like up a hill from my house. Apparently, the weather here in my town is as nice as Hawaii's.   
  
0bs3ssi0n, when on earth are you going to update Changes? You said you would on the weekend!

* * *

Chapter Six  
  
...and saw a sign drawn in blood. Zarine was transfixed by the empty sockets of the bright red skull. It was hideously grinning at her! Shuddering, she read the bright letterings, 'DO NOT LOOK BENEATH!!' She didn't even want to look at it, let alone touch that bloodstained piece of cloth. She quickly shut the box and put it under her bed. Who would want to look at it in the middle of the night? Zarine turned to the little notebook. The front was decorated with a bouquet of miniature fake roses. Opening the book, she read, 'Do not read, private property of Dawn Hiwatari.'  
  
_May 9, 1988  
  
I'm exhausted! What a day! Laynie and I are finally eighteen.  
_  
[Whoa! Wait a minute...] she thought to herself. [Laynie is my mom's nickname! I'm named after her, that's why my middle name is Alaina! What's going on here? Why would this Dawn person have the same birthday as my mom?]  
  
Zarine continued reading...  
  
_We have waited so long for this. Mother and Father had thrown a huge birthday party for us. It was our best birthday party ever. The birthday party was the biggest nightclub of the city, can you believe it? Laynie and I were so surprised when Mother told us that we were going to be celebrating our birthday in nightclub. My parents usually disapprove of such places, but I guess all that persuading worked. Boy, were there a lot of people there. Everyone from our grade had gone. Fortunately, the club was so big, there was enough space for us to dance wildly without worrying about stepping on anyone's foot. Needless to say, Laynie and I got a lot of presents. More than we needed.  
  
Our birthday cake was simply......eh......HUGE! It was as big as the dinning table at home. It was an ice cream cake. Laynie and I simply wouldn't have a normal cake on our birthdays. I think Mother and Father had learnt their lesson on our fifth birthday, when we had destroyed our birthday cake before they even lighted the candles. What can I say? We just love ice cream so much. On top of the cake was the picture of a sun and a star, our symbol.  
  
It was the greatest! The best part was when Alex asked me if I would go out with him! I said yes, of course! We've loved each other since we were like ten! My parents wouldn't let me go out until I'm eighteen, and now I am! I'm so happy. What could go wrong?  
  
May 17, 1988  
  
Alex is coming to meet my parents. He's coming over for dinner. I do hope they'll like him. If they don't, then they'll probably forbid me to see him. All they ever talk about is about Laynie and I getting a good husband that can run Biovolt after Father retire. I can't care less about his company. Laynie might care about living luxuriously, but I sure don't. I swear, I'm so nervous about tonight, I'm going to faint before Alex even arrives!  
  
May 18, 1988  
  
AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I can't believe Voltaire! I don't care if he is my father! I refuse to acknowledge him as my father, for now. Last night was a complete disaster!!! It had nothing to do with Alex. He was perfect. It was my parents that caused all this trouble and now they're blaming it on him!  
  
When the doorbell rang, I rushed to open it.  
  
'Hi, Dawn,' Alex said with a sweet smile. 'Hey, come on in,' I said.  
  
My parents were waiting at the table already. I looked at the grandfather clock, and breathed a sigh of relieve. Alex was just on time. My parents hate people who are late for their appointments, even if it's only a minute or two. Being the perfect gentleman that he is, he pulled a chair for me to sit in before seating himself in the seat next to me. I introduced Alex and my parents began to interrogate him. They were mostly questions like, 'What're your parents' occupations? How much money do they make? Do you plan on going to university...' blah, blah, blah. Alex replied each question politely and respectfully. I don't see why they don't like him!  
  
After Alex left, my parents talked in Father's study for the longest time ever. Then, they called me in, and told me, no, they FORBADE me to ever see Alex ever again! How could they? If they think I'm just going to listen to them, then they're wrong. There's no way I'm ever going to stop seeing him, or talking to him. We love each other and love will find a way for us to be together forever.  
  
June 8, 1988  
  
It is a glorious day today. Laynie found a way for me and Alex to communicate with each other. She said she would be our little messenger with our 'love' notes. Our messages to each other are hardly about how much we love each other, well, some are, but what do you expect? Even Laynie, the closest person to me, doesn't know what we are writing about. We are planning on going to a faraway and rural place together. I guess you could call it eloping...but there's no way in the world I'm going to stick around here and wait for my parents to find me a 'suitable' husband. Yeah, suitable to their taste. Probably some old geezer. They really need to get with the times. I mean, that's like the custom for rich people five hundred years ago. I don't see how Laynie can stand them sometimes.  
  
For now, I'm going to pretend to be a good little girl, who is appalled at the thought of disobeying my parents. Just the thought of it makes me gag. It's not like I have any choice. If I do, I'll probably be punching Mother and Father right now.  
  
July 15, 1988  
  
Tonight, I will go. I'm not sorry, though, apart from the fact that I'm going to have to leave Laynie. I'm going to miss her so much. Alex and I are going to go to Egypt. Hopefully, my parents wouldn't look for us there. I would die before I come back.  
_  
Zarine turned the page, it was blank. [Not very long and not a very dedicated journal writer, is she?] she thought. [Who is this Dawn person? Did she ever get caught? Did she die?] Millions of questions came to her mind, but the thought that occurred to her the most was, 'Who was the Laynie that she spoke about?]  
  
She put the diary on the ground and turned off the lamp. She tried hard to go to sleep, but couldn't. Finally, she bolted up, a sudden thought hit her. Dawn could be her mother's twin! That was the only explanation. They have the same last name, same birthday...the lady in the portrait looked like her mother...what other possible explanation was there?  
  
It was so hard for her to believe. One corner of her mind refused to acknowledge that it might be true. If her mother had a twin sister, wouldn't she tell her own children? Why keep it a secret?  
  
Zarine felt many emotions and she didn't know which was the strongest...doubt, shock, sadness, hope, confusion...  
  
[Why did Mommy keep it a secret? How many other secrets had she been keeping? What if I'm adopted?] she wondered irrationally. [I wouldn't be surprised if I was just picked up from the street. I look nothing like the rest of the family.] Who could she trust? Who trusted her enough to tell her their deepest feelings, thoughts, or desires? The first person that came to her without a doubt was her best friend, Jeff. He had never kept any secrets from her or her from him. Her brother and she were really close, but they still preferred to keep some things from each other.  
  
[He probably doesn't trust me as much anymore. It had been ages since we last saw each other...Does anyone trust me like that now?? That I can be one hundred percent sure about?] she thought miserably. [Ray, he trusts me...I think so...I hope so...]  
  
She felt a sudden longing to be with him. Grabbing her stuffed tiger, she went to the door and opened it silently. Knowing her boyfriend had excellent hearing, she whispered, "Ray?" No need to make more noise than she had to. She didn't want to wake him up if he was already asleep since he was sick.  
  
She saw his figure sat up slowly and turned toward her. "Yeah? Why aren't you asleep? We have school tomorrow," he said softly.  
  
"I couldn't sleep," she said, sitting beside him. For some reason, she didn't want to talk about what she just discovered. She wanted to keep it to herself, for the time being at least.  
  
"Can I stay here with you tonight?" she asked, surprised to hear a pleading tone in her voice. She didn't need to be with him that bad, did she?  
  
"Sure," Ray answered and moved over to make room for her. She slipped under the covers and hugged the tiger close to her.  
  
"You actually brought your stuffed animal with you?" Ray asked with a laugh. "You're fourteen!"  
  
"So? What's your point?" she questioned, raising her eyebrow.  
  
"Aren't you too old for it?"  
  
"You're the one that bought it for me. I'm going to keep everything from you close to me," she said, stifling a yawn.  
  
The Chinese boy's heart filled with love when he heard the last sentence. Sure, he knew that she loved him, but it was nice hearing stuff like that from her once in a while. He instinctively put his arm around her and pulled her close to him.  
  
"Go to sleep now. We have to get up early tomorrow," he said, coughing slightly.  
  
"You're going to school? Are you well enough yet?" she asked anxiously, putting her hand on his forehead.  
  
"I'm fine. I refuse to stay here again tomorrow," he said, gently removing her hand from his forehead.  
  
"Alright. It's your choice," she said, and fell silent. Soon, her breathing was slow and even, a sign that she was asleep and off to dreamland.  
  
Ray looked down at his girlfriend. He grinned, she looked so much like a little kid with the white tiger in her arms. Outside, the clouds moved aside for the moonlight to shine on her. He felt a tug at his heart. Zarine's face was soft and innocent, she would have looked like an angel if it wasn't for her stuffed animal. Brushing hair away from her face, he admired her beautiful features. Finally, he tore his eyes away from her reluctantly. He had school tomorrow and he should be sleeping instead of staring at the girl sleeping beside him.

* * *

Jewels' POV  
  
I have been staring at the ceiling all night long. Looking over at the clock, I realized that it was only one o'clock in the morning. I groaned and turned over onto my side. Sleep wouldn't come. After a while, I threw the covers off of me, given up on any sleep for a while. Maybe a walk would help.  
  
I quietly made my way to the backdoor in the kitchen. I didn't want to wake my family up. Just when I was about to open the door, a sudden whining sound was heard by my ears. Waffles came, with the bells on her collar ringing softly.  
  
Shit! I have forgotten about my puppy. I decided to pick her up and walked with her in my arms. Waffles was quiet on the way, curious about where I'm going. I didn't know where I was going...until the beach came into view. I could hear the waves, crashing onto the shore. Waffles' ears twitched eagerly. I knew what she was thinking, she wanted to chase the water.  
  
"No, Waffles, not tonight," I told her firmly.  
  
The beach was totally quiet except for the waves. I sat on a big rock, and listened to the music that the water was making. This was exactly what I needed. I closed my eyes and enjoyed this moment. My white puppy laid down on my lap, clearly enjoying this as much as I did.  
  
"You are sure out late tonight," a voice said, causing me to jump up.  
  
I looked up, and saw Kai. Great, out of all the people that had to come tonight, it had to be him. "Hi," I said quietly. I couldn't exactly ignore him.  
  
Waffles sniffed Kai curiously. "You got a new dog?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah," I answered, petting her white head. "Why are you out so late?"  
  
"I couldn't sleep," he responded.  
  
I sneaked a look at him. His auburn eyes were on me, and his blue hair was ruffled slightly by the wind. I couldn't turn my gaze away. It was like his eyes had some kind of magnetic properties. The thing that brought me back to reality was Waffles leaping off my lap and running straight into the waves.  
  
"WAFFLES!" I yelled. "Come back!"  
  
For the first time ever, my puppy ignored my command. I could see her tail wagging around furiously. I ran after her, afraid that the water might pull her under. She wasn't very big, after all.  
  
I managed to get close to her and was about to grab her collar when she shook her soaked coat. Water sprayed all over me. When I wiped the drops of water away, she had run away farther along the shoreline. I swore, now I had to clean her up after.  
  
"Let her have some fun," Kai said from behind me.  
  
"What do you know?" I snapped. "She can drown if a big wave comes and drags her under!"  
  
"The ocean is pretty calm tonight. Chill out, your dog seems to know what she's doing," he said. "You know, you're all wet."  
  
"Wow, great observation. I wouldn't have noticed," I said sarcastically.  
  
"Learn to have some fun," he told me.  
  
"Who are you to tell me to have some fun? You were always the one who is serious," I said crossly.  
  
"Well, people change," he said. "I've changed, you've changed probably."  
  
"Proof that you've changed from that sourpuss that I knew a year ago," I challenged.  
  
He didn't answer, but kicked water onto me. As if I needed to get any wetter than I already was. "Aren't you going to fight back?" he asked. "Or are you just going to let me get you wet?"  
  
I scoffed, "You wish!" and kicked some water back onto him. Soon, it turned into an all out water fight. We were both soaked and tired by the end of it. We both sat down some distance away from the water. Kai was trying to get the hair out of his eyes. I couldn't help but laugh. I guess no gel could keep his hair spiky after all that water.  
  
"I wouldn't be laughing. You look like some drowned chicken," he said.  
  
"Drowned chicken?!" I demanded. I was just about to punch him or something, but then I remembered Waffles. Where was she?  
  
"Waffles!" I called, walking quickly along the beach.  
  
Kai caught up to me and helped. "Waffles!" he called in his masculine voice.  
  
The more ground we covered, the more worried I got. What if my puppy drowned?? "She's not here," he said when we walked the whole length of the beach.  
  
"What if something happened? What if she drowned?" I said, and felt tears prickling the back of my eye. I was not about to cry in front of Hiwatari. "It's all because of you!" I shouted. "If I hadn't listened to you...if I had only gone after her..." Tears spilled out, I couldn't stop them. I started to sob, "I should've stayed close to her and watched her."  
  
I felt pathetic, crying in front of him. He had never seen my tears before, and I had never intended to let him see them. 


	8. Chapter 7: The Green Eyed Monster

In case some of you were confused about last chappie...maybe this will help...  
  
Dawn Hiwatari – The person who wrote the diary entries. Voltaire is her father. She is believed to be Laynie's twin. Her whereabouts are unknown.  
  
Alaina (aka. Laynie in the diary entries) – is who Zarine believes is her mom. Possibly Dawn's twin.  
  
Okay, and just to let you know, Zarine's mom is dead, and this is for sure. She's not going to jump out of her grave and come back alive. Zarine's full name is Zarine Alaina Star. Her middle name is her mother's first name.  
  
There had been no confirmation yet about whether Dawn and Laynie are twins...and also Zarine thinks the Laynie that Dawn was talking about is her mother, no confirmation either, just a theory. Yes, and I know I'm just full of surprises. Lol! On with it...

* * *

Chapter 7 – The Green-Eyed Monster  
  
Kai's POV  
  
I stared at the girl sobbing her heart out in front of me in disbelief. Jewels was crying in front of me. I had never seen her tears before. She had always seemed so strong and confident. In all my years, I had never known that she would love someone so much to cry over them, especially a dog.  
  
"She's barely nine months old! Mom, Dad and Carrie would kill me for this!" she cried.  
  
"Maybe she had run home," I said, wanting to comfort her.  
  
"Maybe," she said miserably.  
  
"I'm sorry," I blurted out. I blinked in surprise, what the hell was I apologizing for?  
  
Her violet eyes locked onto mine. "No, it was all my fault. I'm going." She turned around and walked away.  
  
I called, "Jewels! Where are you going?"  
  
She turned around and snapped, "Hiwatari, it's none of your business."  
  
What the hell was her problem? I was trying to be nice and she bites my head off.  
  
Suddenly, there was a bark. Waffles ran joyfully to her owner. Jewels picked her puppy up and murmured, "I was so worried! Honey, never run off again, you hear?" Before she left with Waffles in her arms, she turned to me and said stiffly, "Good night."  
  
Seriously, what was wrong with her? She was nice one minute, and then cold the next. That wasn't the most important thing. Jewels had changed. She had never been so warm to someone. What was so special about her dog anyways?  
  
I slowly began to walk home, still thinking about Jewels. I couldn't forget about her tearstained face. When I saw how sad she was, I wanted to comfort her. I had never wanted to comfort anyone, except for Zarine.  
  
At first when I met Zarine, I thought she was some kind of weakling that needed protection 24/7. However, she had proven me wrong. Somehow, with all the problems in her life, which had been almost as bad as mine, she managed to hold on. I had been interested in her. It was only natural, she was pretty, but she's not my type. Ray would skin me alive if he found out that I had ever thought of liking her. He was so possessive of his girlfriend.  
  
I supposed it was only reasonable for Jewels to treat me like a stranger. I did leave her a year ago. I grimaced at the memory, still feeling ashamed of it.

* * *

Normal POV  
  
Ray slammed the door of his locker shut. His heart filled with the feeling of jealousy. He didn't care about how other people had stared at him. All he could think about was the conversation he had with that guy in English.  
  
Flashback  
  
_He sat down in his seat in his English class at the back after he had finished introducing himself. Sitting beside me was a guy with dirty blonde hair and gray eyes.  
  
"Hey," he said, "I'm Gavin."  
  
"Hi," Ray said.  
  
The teacher had assigned them some comprehension work to do. Gavin suddenly questioned, "Is Kai Zarine's boyfriend?"  
  
Ray was startled. "No, where did you hear that?"  
  
"Yesterday, you should've seen Kai. He was acting like he owned her or something. At lunch, when I was just talking to the girl, he came and demanded that I stop," the gray eyed boy explained. "Rumors are everywhere about them being a couple, you know. I'm surprised you haven't heard it already."  
  
Ray glared at Kai and Zarine, who were sitting together in the second row. They were talking and after a while, Zarine smiled at Kai before turning her attention to her work.  
  
_End of Flashback  
  
"Ray!" Zarine called. She ran up to him, and asked, "Ready to go to gym?"  
  
"Why aren't you with Kai?" he asked sourly.  
  
"Why would I be with him? Just because we left together don't mean we have to go to the next class together," she said.  
  
"You guys left together?" Ray demanded, feeling even more jealous now.  
  
"Well, you didn't wait for us. You were rushing out the door when the bell rang. I didn't have a chance to catch up with you," she said. "Let's go before we're late."  
  
She grabbed his hand and led him off to class. Ray wanted to get some answers out of Kai as soon as possible, but when he went into the change room, Kai was already gone. In class, the teacher split the class into half for a game of soccer. Kenny, Tyson, Max, Kai, Zarine, Jewels, Hilary and some other people were on one team and Ray was all alone on the other.  
  
When the game was being set up, a group of girls were looking at Ray with interest.  
  
"Oh man, he's hot," a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes said dreamily to her friends.  
  
"If you're that interested in him, just go and talk to him," her friend said.  
  
"I will," the blonde hair girl said, walking up to the Chinese boy.  
  
"Hey, I'm Shea," she said, sticking her hand out.  
  
"Oh hi, I'm Ray," Ray said, taking her hand to shake it.  
  
Soon, they strike up a conversation. Occasionally, Ray laughed at some of Shea's jokes. Zarine looked from the other side of the gym with dislike. Why couldn't she make Ray laugh like that?  
  
Then, the teacher blew his whistle, signaling for the game to start. The two teams were evenly matched. Zarine, Kenny, and Max were on defense. Jewels was the goalie and saved every goal. Once, a guy came close to the goal with the ball, but Zarine managed to take the ball away and kicked it hard to the other side of the field. Harder than she intended...The ball flew high into the air. Shea looked up just in time to see the ball coming, landing smack on her face. The blondie cried out in pain, and held her nose. Blood was coming out rapidly.  
  
Zarine gasped, and ran over to Shea. "I'm so sorry!" She felt bad for hitting the blue eyed girl, even though Shea should've kept an eye on the ball.  
  
"Sir, I'll take Shea to the nurse," Ray offered. The teacher nodded, and they slowly walked back to the school.  
  
Zarine scowled at their retreating figures. The guilt of injuring the girl was replaced with jealousy. Why the hell was Ray being so nice to Shea anyway? They've met for less than an hour. The game continued for no more than ten minutes before the bell rang.  
  
The students all made their way back into the school to get changed out of their sweaty clothes. Zarine hurried out of the change room, hoping to catch Ray alone. She arrived just in time to see Ray bidding Shea good bye at his locker.  
  
Carefully hiding her feeling of envy, she made her way to her boyfriend asked, "Is Shea okay now?"  
  
"Yeah," he answered absently as he got his lunch. "Maybe you should've watched where you were kicking the ball."  
  
Zarine felt anger and resentment filling her when he said that. "Maybe she should've kept her eyes on the game instead of gawking at you like an idiot!" she snapped before walking away, leaving him to stand alone in the hallway.  
  
Ray watched her leave in surprise. Why was she so mad all of a sudden? He was the one who should be angry. After all, whatever she let Kai do yesterday had led to rumors about them being a couple.  
  
When he spotted his friends in the cafeteria, he marched right in front of the blue haired boy. "Kai, we need to talk," he said firmly. Kai nodded and followed Ray outside.  
  
"Wonder what they could be talking about?" Tyson mused. "Zarine, do you know what they're talking about?"  
  
"How should I know? Ray doesn't tell me everything, you know," Zarine said, irritated. She turned her eyes on the back of the room, not really seeing anything at all. She tried to convince herself that Ray wouldn't leave her for someone else and that she was just being paranoid about the whole thing.  
  
Suddenly, someone hissed in her ear, "Zarine! Snap out of it!"  
  
The girl with the silver hair jumped slightly. "What??" She turned her attention to Carrie.  
  
The red head nudged her with an elbow and stared pointedly at someone standing beside her.  
  
Zarine turned around and saw Leo there. "Oh, hi!"  
  
"I was wondering if I did anything to offend you. You were just staring at me with an angry expression for five minutes," Leo said.  
  
"What? I was? Sorry, it's not you. It's something else..." she assured him with a smile.  
  
"All right then. Catch you later!" he said and gave her a wink.  
  
In the courtyard...  
  
Ray glared at Kai. "Would you mind explaining the rumors about you and Zarine?"  
  
"What would you want me to say? I didn't start them," Kai said.  
  
"You must have done something to make people think that you are!" Ray said heatedly. "Gavin said that you acted like you owned Zarine or something and at lunch when he was talking to her, you told him to stop.  
  
Kai snorted. "Well, Gavin is known for making himself look innocent when he's not. In the morning, he asked Zarine if he would go out with him. Zarine told him that she wasn't available. He didn't just 'talk' to her at lunch. He was hitting on your girlfriend when he knew that she's not single. Jewels was telling them to stop, but they ignored her. I had to step in. I won't stand for people disobeying Jewels, you got that? If word gets out that someone actually succeeds in getting away with going against her, then her reputation is ruined. Now who do you believe? Me or that desperate creep? If you don't believe me, just ask Zarine. She is your girlfriend, and I bet she would blow up in your face if you ever tell her that you think she's lying." (This is like the longest speech that Kai had ever said to people!! He had changed....)  
  
"Fine, I believe you," Ray said. "Let's go back in and eat." They arrived just in time to hear Carrie squeal, "Oh my gosh! One of the hottest guy in the school just winked at you! Aren't you excited?? Maybe you two will go out or something."  
  
"Well, I already have a boyfriend," Zarine said.  
  
"You never said you had one!" Carrie said. "Who is it?"  
  
"Ray," she replied, eating the last bit of her Fruit by the Foot. "I don't intend to leave him for anyone."  
  
[But who knows about him? Maybe he would want Shea instead of me.] she thought.  
  
Carrie looked at Zarine, then at Ray, and then back at Zarine again. "You never told me that you and Ray are going out! But I think you two would look cute together. Why don't you sit beside each other so I can see if I'm right or not?"  
  
Zarine met Ray's gaze uncertainly. Ray looked just as hesitant as she. He wondered if she was still upset about whatever it was that bothered her. He stood up and walked around the table to sit down in the empty spot beside her, never taking his eyes off hers. Slowly, he put his arm around her shoulder, not sure how she would react. She didn't brush him away, but she felt tense to Ray.  
  
"I was right! You look so cute!" Carrie exclaimed.  
  
Zarine gave her red haired friend a small smile and swiftly changed the subject, "Why doesn't Jewels eat lunch with us?"  
  
"She used to, but she doesn't anymore. I don't know why though," Max said, puzzled. "Why doesn't she?"  
  
Carrie's gaze flickered to Kai before answering carefully, "She said she doesn't want to." It was partly true, since Jewels doesn't want to be with Kai unless he makes peace with her first.  
  
Kai was just opening his mouth to say something, but Hilary's yell cut him short. "TYSON! YOU CREEP!" Everyone turned to look at the source of the commotion.  
  
The object of her anger was laughing hysterically, rolling on the floor, tears running down his face. "Haha, you should have seen your face!"  
  
"What has he done now?" Carrie asked exasperatedly.  
  
"He put a spider in my hair!" Hilary practically screamed at her friend.  
  
Kenny chided, "Tyson, that wasn't very nice."  
  
"Aw, come on! It was just a joke!" Tyson said.  
  
"A very humorless one if you ask me," Hilary said furiously, lowering her voice low enough for people within five meters of her could hear.  
  
"You –" He began to say, but someone in the cafeteria yelled, "Stop arguing so we can actually get some peace and quiet for once!" Everyone nodded simultaneously in agreement.  
  
Tyson shut his mouth and glared at Hilary. The brunette returned the glare and wondered why the heck she liked such a jerk in the first place.

* * *

Okay, I'm really sorry if this chapter is bad. I'm running out of ideas, so if you have any, email me please!!! 


	9. Chapter 8: Disappointments

Thanks to 0bs3ssi0n's idea...I was able to write this!  
  
Chapter Eight – Disappointments  
  
After school, a petite girl searched up and down the hallways for her boyfriend. She couldn't find him anywhere and wondered where he was. They were supposed to go to Tyson's dojo. At last, she saw him talking to a girl with blonde hair by the art room. They looked really happy talking to each other to her. Zarine almost decided to just turn around and leave, but she gritted her teeth and walked up to the pair.  
  
"Hey," Ray said, barely sparing her a glance before returning to his conversation.  
  
"We have to go to Tyson's, remember?" Zarine reminded.  
  
"Oh ya. I'll see you tomorrow, Shea," he said, and waved to the blonde.  
  
"Bye," Shea said, smiling. It looked like she would have no trouble getting Ray to be her boyfriend. Putting her binders into her backpack, she closed her locker door and got ready to leave.  
  
"Hey," Leo said, coming to stand beside her.  
  
"Hi," she said, with less warmth than usual. She knew that he was dying to go out with her, and she had been interested in his offer, until that morning. Compared to Ray, Leo was nothing.  
  
"Want to grab a drink or something?" he asked hopefully.  
  
"Sorry, but I have plans already," she lied. "See you around."  
  
Leo watched her leave with a look of disappointment. He sighed in frustration. He had been trying to catch her eye for a year now. Why won't Shea return his feelings? So many girls consider him a sex god, but not her.  
  
That night, Zarine knocked on Kai's door with a binder in her hand.  
  
Kai got up from his desk and opened it a little to see who it was. "What is it?" he questioned when he saw the silver haired girl.  
  
"Can you help me with some homework?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, alright," he said, opening the door wider for her to go through.  
  
After he answered all of her questions, she said, "Thanks. I better not keep you from finishing your homework." She put her hand on the doorknob and was about to exit his room when Kai said, "You could have just asked Ray, you know."  
  
"I know," she said quietly.  
  
He looked at her intently and asked, "Then why didn't you? He would've been more than happy to help you."  
  
Zarine was at a loss for an answer. When she couldn't think of an excuse, she merely shrugged before going back to her own room.  
  
Kai frowned. Obviously, something was going on between the two of them. However, it was none of his business. They could work things out by themselves and unless it got out of hand, he wouldn't interfere.  
  
Zarine looked down at the ground as she was walking back to her room. The reason why she didn't ask Ray for help was because she was afraid. What if he tells her that he didn't want her anymore because he had found someone new? The thought of it tortured her.  
  
[Maybe tomorrow will be better.] she thought hopefully.  
  
As soon as Zarine left, Kai picked up the phone. He dialed the number that he hadn't called for a year.  
  
"Hello?" Jewels' voice answered on the other end.  
  
"Jewels, it's Kai," he said.  
  
There was a long silence...then Jewels asked, "What do you want?"  
  
"I was wondering if you'll eat lunch with us again," he said, crossing his fingers.  
  
Jewels replied in a cold tone, "No, why would I? I still got homework, so..."  
  
Kai interrupted her. "I want you to be there at lunch tomorrow."  
  
Jewels' eyes widened. He wanted her to be there? He actually thought that she would be there because he wanted her to? Did he just expect her to forgive him like that after a whole year of ignoring her? What the hell?! He should at least apologize!  
  
"That doesn't make a difference. I don't want to be there," she said before hanging up on him.  
  
The auburn eyed boy swore. Why wouldn't she forgive him? He had taken the first step to make up with her. Telling her that he wanted her to be there damaged his pride. A lot.  
  
The next day, Ray woke up just in time for school. Puzzled, he rapped on Zarine's door. Usually, she would have woken him up by this time. She was a morning person. When his girlfriend didn't answer, he opened it. One glimpse told him that she had already woke up and left. Her bed was made and her baby blue backpack was gone.  
  
He went downstairs and hoping to see her in the kitchen. Much to his disappointment, the butler came and told him that she and Kai had already left for school. He didn't understand why she didn't wait for him, but had left with Kai instead. It felt strange to him, he had talked to her every few hours ever since he met her. Okay, so what if he had only known her for a month? She was a huge part of his life. He didn't even bother to eat so he would get time with Zarine before school starts.  
  
He saw her talking animatedly with a couple of guys at her locker. Ray felt a stab of jealousy. Zarine came to school early so she could talk with some guys that she just met two days ago?  
  
He was marching down the corridor to demand some answers out of her when... someone suddenly covered his eyes. "Guess who?" a female voice giggled.  
  
"Shea," Ray said. Moving her hands away, he turned around to look at her.  
  
"Why are you here so early?" she asked curiously.  
  
"Oh, I was just going to talk to my girlfriend," he replied. Then he added, "Zarine, you know the one with the silver hair over there."  
  
She glared daggers at the silver headed girl at the other end of the hallway. [What?! She is his girlfriend?!] she thought lividly.  
  
She pleaded, "I came here ahead of time to wait for you so I can show you something. You can talk to her after."  
  
"All right. I suppose I won't die if I talk to Zarine later," he said before following her  
  
Zarine instinctively turned her head. What she saw made her heart sink. Ray was walking away with a certain blonde, Shea. [Why didn't he come and talk to me? He probably saw me here, then why would he follow Shea?] she thought, confused and jealous.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Leo asked, startling her out of her reverie.  
  
Zarine shook her head, and muttered, "I'll see you in class. I have to go and talk to Carrie."  
  
She walked away, not to Carrie, but just to be by herself. [Stop being such a possessive freak!] she scolded herself. [Ray's NOT going to leave you for some girl he met yesterday!]  
  
Kai let out a stream of curses as he shut his locker. He just saw Jewels and as soon as she spotted him, she spun around and went back the way she came.  
  
"You sure are in a cheerful mood today," someone remarked.  
  
"Oh, it's you," he said simply when he saw Carrie's grinning face.  
  
"Show some excitement when you see one of your friends. It makes them feel special," she said. She peered at him thoughtfully with her hazel eyes. "So why are you in such a bad mood?"  
  
"Your sister, that's why," he said.  
  
"What did Jewels do? You guys never even talk to each other anymore," Carrie said, bewildered.  
  
"We did. The night before and last night," Kai said. "I was taking a walk on the beach two nights ago because I couldn't sleep, and met Jewels and Waffles there. Well, we got into a water fight and forgot all about the puppy. When it was over, Waffles was gone. Jewels thought that her dog had drowned or something and started crying. She acted all cold and everything after that, even when Waffles appeared," Kai told the red head.  
  
"Crying?" she asked, her eyes wide.  
  
"Yeah, you know, when drops of water come out of your eyes," he said dryly.  
  
"I'm well aware of what crying is," she snapped. "What about last night?"  
  
"I called her," he admitted.  
  
"Called her?" she said incredulously.  
  
Kai explained with an amused look, "That's when you punch in numbers on a phone."  
  
She ignored his comment. "What did you talk about?'  
  
"I asked her if she would eat lunch with us..." he said.  
  
"And..."  
  
He sighed, "She said no. The message she sent was as clear as a door slammed in my face."  
  
Carrie narrowed her eyes. "Wait a minute," she said slowly. "Did you apologize?"  
  
"Why should I?" he asked. "I don't apologize to anyone." He was NOT going to damaged his pride even more by apologizing to Jewels a second time.  
  
"There's a first time for everything," Carrie said. "Unless you get over your little quirk...Jewels will never forgive you."  
  
"Quirk?" Kai said, arching an eyebrow. "She knows very well that it had really hurt my pride to tell her that I wanted her to be with us again."  
  
"She's not going to just hand forgiveness over to you for nothing," she said. "And there's a price for everything. Think about it and make the right choice. You can have your pride or you can have Jewels' friendship." [And maybe more.] she thought, smiling inside.

* * *

Yes, I know, terribly short. Next chapter will be longer!


	10. Chapter 9: Time to Take Action?

Chapter Nine – Time to Take Action?  
  
"So you'll be having a sleepover this Friday night??" Zarine asked, excited.  
  
"Yep," Carrie replied. "With everyone."  
  
"SWEETNESS!" Max exclaimed, jumping around happily.  
  
The girls watched him with identical smiles on their faces, knowing that Max was certainly on a sugar high at the moment.  
  
"Maxie, calm down!" Hilary laughed.  
  
"How can I? A sleepover is so cool!" Max said.  
  
"What'll we do?" Tyson asked.  
  
"I thought we'll just watch movies, hang out, stuff like that," Carrie replied.  
  
"Let's watch scary movies!" Max suggested.  
  
"I'll see what I can do," the red head promised.  
  
"It's nearly eleven, shouldn't you be sleeping?" Kai asked, walking up to Zarine, who was sitting on the stone bench in the garden.  
  
Zarine sighed, "Look, just because I'm younger than you, doesn't mean that I'm going to fall over with fatigue tomorrow because I didn't get enough sleep for one night."  
  
He studied her face for a moment and stated flatly, "You haven't been getting enough sleep for more than one night. I can tell."  
  
She shrugged. There was nothing she could do about her nightmares that kept coming back every night. She found herself missing her parents at night and crying over their death.  
  
"What's bothering you?" Kai asked gently. "Is it Ray?"  
  
The thought of her boyfriend brought a pang into her heart, unpleasantly reminding her of her dilemma with him at the moment. She nodded miserably. "Kai, I don't think he wants me anymore."  
  
"Why would you think that?" he questioned.  
  
"Because he never even looks at me anymore. We haven't talked for a week now. He's always talking to Shea anyways," Zarine said. "He doesn't need me."  
  
"I don't think that's true," he said slowly.  
  
"Whatever. I'm going to bed now," she said, quickly walking away. She didn't want to talk about it. It was true though, Ray didn't need her like she needed him.  
  
Flashback  
  
_The warning bell had just rung, telling students that they only had ten minutes left to go back to class after lunch. Zarine looked down at the ground, and sighed. It was another long lunch hour without a word to Ray.  
  
"Zarine?" Carrie said.  
  
"Yeah," Zarine answered, only paying half of her attention to her friend.  
  
"I hope you won't mind me asking this..." she said slowly, "but, why do you never talk to Ray? He's your boyfriend."  
  
Zarine shrugged. She didn't know that herself. All she knew was that she wasn't about to start talking to him on her own. She was so scared that Ray would tell her that he wanted to break up with her so he could go with Shea.  
  
_End of Flashback  
  
Ray yawned. He was tired, but he didn't feel like sleeping yet. Instead, he picked up his photo album and began flipping through it. It was mostly of the White Tigers from back home when he last visited the village. They were either blading, playing soccer, or just hanging out and making faces at the camera. There were some of the Bladebreakers. Ray chuckled when he saw one of Tyson pouring water on Max's head. Then, Max was chasing Tyson around his dojo in the next one with a furious look on his face.  
  
His smile faded when he saw the last picture. It was the one of him and Zarine kissing on the balcony at this party two weeks ago. Tyson took it when they weren't looking. He kept it because he liked it as much as Zarine hated it. Slamming the album shut, he flopped onto his bed and stared moodily at the ceiling.  
  
Zarine hadn't talked to him for a week! A whole week! She was always talking to Leo or some other guy anyway. He didn't know why she no longer wanted to talk to him. One thing he did know was that he missed her a lot. He needed her and thought that she needed him too, but apparently not. Now that she had the attention of some other guys, she wasn't interested in him anymore.

* * *

The next day...  
  
Zarine was boiling with anger when she saw Shea flirting with Ray again. Shea knew very well that Ray's her boyfriend, and yet she still flirts with him. Zarine decided that she had to do something about that at least.  
  
"Why do I never see you around Zarine? You guys are supposed to be going out, aren't you?" the blonde asked Ray.  
  
Ray didn't know what to say. He fumbled for an answer. "Well...we see each other a lot at Kai's, so it's good for us to mingle with other people in the school."  
  
Shea could tell Ray was lying but didn't comment on it. She had to take advantage of the rift between him and his girlfriend, temporary or not, to get him.  
  
"Everyone else's girlfriends wait for their boyfriends at their locker. Or at least, the loyal ones do. Even if you guys see each other a lot after school, I think she should still wait for you to go home together," she said matter-of-factly.  
  
"I have to go, I'll see you in class," Ray said, not wanting to continue the subject.  
  
Zarine waited until her boyfriend had left to pounce on Shea.  
  
"Hi," Shea said to the petite girl sweetly.  
  
"Save me the pleasantries," Zarine said, glaring daggers at the other girl. "Stay away from my boyfriend, got it?"  
  
The blue eyed girl smirked. "It's not my fault if he finds me more attractive than you. Besides it's his choice to hang around the girl he likes the most."  
  
"That certainly wouldn't be you, because Ray loves me," Zarine hissed, though her mind was telling her the opposite.  
  
"Sorry to break your little heart, but Ray's going to be with me no matter what you say," the taller girl said, sneering down at Zarine. "God, just because you're pretty, doesn't mean he likes you the best. Face it."  
  
"We'll see about that, bitch," Zarine said softly, before leaving Shea standing in front of her locker.  
  
Carrie, Tyson, Hilary, Max were sitting under a tree, chatting before school. Kai was up in the tree, staring at a certain red head, Jewels. He battled with himself, trying to make himself go up to her and apologize. He had made his decision about what to do, but taking action was a whole different thing. Slowly, the others' conversation drifted into his mind.  
  
Taking advantage of Zarine's and Ray's convenient absence, Carrie said, "You know, we should do something about Zarine and Ray."  
  
"It is very odd how they don't even look at each other. Usually, they hold hands and everything," Max remarked.  
  
"Maybe they can work it out themselves," Hilary said hopefully.  
  
"We had this conversation a week ago already," Tyson said. "I say it's time for us to step in."  
  
"Give it more time," Kai said, causing the others to jump. They had forgotten that he was still up in the tree.  
  
"How long though?" Carrie questioned, raising her head to look up at him.  
  
"As long as it takes for them to talk to each other again," Kai answered, closing his eyes so he wouldn't have to see the object of his problem.  
  
Carrie opened her mouth to say something, but the sound of the warning bell cut her off short.  
  
"Let's go, we're going to be late," Hilary said.  
  
Leo was sitting in the front of the class, waiting for his Science class to start. He rubbed his eyes and yawn, tired from the lack of sleep. His three year old brother had a fever and kept the whole family awake last night with his crying.  
  
Behind him, he could hear girls gossiping.  
  
"So did you hear that Shea have the hots for the new guy?" a girl said.  
  
That immediately got Leo's attention. He opened his textbook and pretended to flip through it while eavesdropping on the girls' conversation.  
  
"Who can blame her? He's such a hottie! And he's also very good-looking," girl #2 sighed dreamily.  
  
"I heard that he's already going out with someone. He's dating that new girl, Zarine. They're on the same beyblading team," girl #3 said. "Too bad."  
  
"That hasn't stopped Shea yet. She's determined to get Ray. Besides, who do you always see around Ray? Zarine or Shea? It's obvious that Ray wants Shea. Now he just has to break up with his dear girlfriend," girl #1 said.  
  
Leo was not happy at all to hear this. He would never let Ray steal Shea away from him.  
  
[Why would he want Shea when he's already got Zarine?] he wondered. [Zarine is so nice and she's pretty.]  
  
His hands balled into fists. As if it wasn't enough when Ray embarrassed him in gym by beating him in basketball. He used to be the star of the basketball team, until his grades got so bad, they kicked him off. Now his grades are getting better, but the teachers were afraid he might have a relapse, so he's only a spare on the team.  
  
He also heard the gym teacher asking Ray if he wanted to join the team. Ray had agreed to it enthusiastically. What the hell?! His sport is beyblading, not basketball. As much as he hated to admit it, he was jealous of Ray. Ray's got everything, even the heart of the girl of his dreams.  
  
Ray thought back to what Shea said to him about loyal girlfriends, and compared her definition of one to Zarine. It was very true that she never waits for him, but he saw her waiting for Kai by his locker all the time after school to go home. She never even waited for him to go to math together. His locker is right outside of the classroom. She should at least stop and wait to go into the classroom together. He was going to have to talk to her about that.  
  
After school, Zarine saw Ray marching up to her. She wondered what he was going to do. He had this determined look on his face.  
  
[God, I hope he's not going to tell me he wants to break up or something.] she thought, worried.  
  
"Why don't you come and look for me at my locker like everyone's girlfriend does?" Ray demanded.  
  
Zarine just shrugged. It seemed like she was always doing that lately in order to avoid answering questions.  
  
"Was that all you wanted to know? Because I'm supposed to meet Carrie right now," she said. Determined to not let him see how hurt she was, she put on a mask of coolness.  
  
"You still haven't answered my question," he said.  
  
"Look Ray, it's not like you wait for me or anything. Why should you always be the one that I pay attention to all the time? I have friends, you know," she told him. "If you'll excuse me, Carrie's going to wonder where I am."  
  
He grabbed her wrist to stop her from leaving. "So are you saying that you don't need me?" he asked angrily. "Now that you have friends, you don't need me anymore?"  
  
Zarine was startled. How did he come up with that? "I never said that," she hissed furiously.  
  
"Well, you might as well as meant that," he said heatedly.  
  
"I never thought of it!" she protested.  
  
"Yeah right," he muttered.  
  
"So you're calling me a liar?" she yelled at him. "How could you?"  
  
The others came around the corner. "Hey, what are you two arguing about?" Tyson asked.  
  
Zarine and Ray rounded on him and snapped, "None of your business, Tyson!" before walking away in the opposite direction of each other.  
  
"Geez, they didn't have to take it out on me," he muttered, annoyed with the couple.  
  
"Guys, I think it's time for us to butt in and make sure they patch things up," Max said seriously.  
  
"It's way past time to," Carrie agreed. "I don't care what Kai says. We definitely have to before things get any worse between them."

* * *

I hope you like this chapter. I really like the end, even though Ray and Zarine argued. 


	11. Chapter 10: Mission Accomplished?

Thanks for all the people who reviewed. Okay, I know that some of you want Zarine and Kai to be together, though I have no idea why...just send in a couple of reasons, so I can see how they're better than the Zarine/Ray couple. Email me or whatever. If you're emailing, type something in the subject to indicate you're not sending a virus to me. I've been getting a lot of those kind of junk mail lately.  
  
Don't judge Jewels yet because you barely know what she's like. Okay, so she's cold to Kai, that doesn't mean that she's cold to everyone.  
  
Oh ya, and no, Kai and Zarine aren't going to get together in this story because it'll just ruin the whole thing...maybe in another story. I'm not promising anything because right now, I don't have a new idea for a story, except for the sequel to this. Yes, people, there will be a third story after this.

* * *

Chapter Ten – Mission Accomplished?  
  
"So, does anyone have any objections or any other suggestions?" Carrie asked, looking around at Max, Tyson, and Hilary. They were at her house coming up with a plan to get Ray and Zarine back together.  
  
The others shook their heads. It sounded like a good plan to them.  
  
"You know, they're probably going to kill us for this," Tyson said. He had been on the receiving end of Zarine's anger before, and he knew better than to make her angry.  
  
"If we get them back together, then they wouldn't have an excuse to," Max reasoned.  
  
"Let's hope so," Hilary said.  
  
"Zarine, can you come early to my house to help me prepare for the sleepover?" Carrie asked the next day at school.  
  
Zarine smiled. "Sure! I can't wait till tonight!"  
  
"Me neither," the red haired girl said. [For you and Ray to make up with each other.] she added silently.  
  
Then she remembered something. "Is Kai even going to come? He hasn't told me and I don't see him as the type that would leap at the idea of a sleepover."  
  
Her friend said sheepishly. "Oops. I was supposed to tell you two days ago. He is going. Do you actually think he would stay at home alone while we are having all the fun?"  
  
Carrie grinned. "He's an old sourpuss after all, or he's just extremely good at hiding the fact that he likes to have fun with his friends."  
  
"Ha, he's probably both," Zarine said, her eyes twinkling with laughter.  
  
"What's gotten you two so amused?" Kai asked.  
  
"Nothing," the girls answered with the same innocent look.  
  
"Yeah right. I bet you two were talking behind my back again," Kai said. "Or else making fun of me."  
  
"How could you suggest such a thing?" Zarine asked, pretending to be shocked.  
  
"Yeah, Kai. We'd never dream of it," Carrie said.  
  
"Do you guys know how much alike you are? Carrie, sometimes I think you're twins with Zarine rather than Jewels," he remarked.  
  
The hazel eyed girl shrugged and put an arm around her friend. "Who knows? Maybe I'll adopt Zarine as my sister, then Jewels, Zarine and I can be triplets!"  
  
Kai just rolled his eyes and sighed. He turned around to go to his next class.  
  
"You could've said bye or farewell or something to let us know that you wouldn't grace us with your divine presence anymore!" Carrie called dramatically, "Farewell, my holy father!"  
  
Zarine burst out into laughter. Carrie joined in, laughing hard. She gasped, "God, I love annoying him!"  
  
Kai grumbled as he plopped himself into the seat next to Ray.  
  
"Was Carrie annoying you again?" Ray asked with a chuckle. "What had she done this time?"  
  
Kai grimaced as he heard an echo of _'Farewell, my holy father!'_ in his head. "I would rather not be reminded of it," he said.  
  
"It must've been pretty bad," Ray said sympathetically. He had seen the ruthless teasing of Carrie, and he knew how much it embarrassed and irritates Kai, being the kind of person that he was.  
  
"You have no idea," Kai said, and glared at the figures of the two girls entering the room.  
  
Later that day at Carrie's house...  
  
DING DONG! Carrie yelled, "Jewels, can you get the door for me? It's Zarine."  
  
Jewels opened the door, and Waffles immediately went up to Zarine curiously with a wagging tail.  
  
"Hi!" Zarine said with a smile. "So, what's her name?"  
  
"She's Waffles," Jewels replied.  
  
Carrie came running after a moment and told her friend, "Come on in." She led Zarine to a guest room with a double bed.  
  
"Put your stuff in that closet," she said, pointing to the closet farthest to the door. "The other one has loads of stuff in it."  
  
Her twin sister raised her eyebrows questioningly. Jewels knew perfectly well that the other closet was in fact, empty. Carrie just shook her head and winked. Jewels nodded in satisfaction. She knew that Carrie must have something planned. Zarine, who was busy putting her stuff in the closet, saw none of this for her back was turned.  
  
"Let's go get the junk food," the shorter twin suggested. (That's Carrie if you didn't know.) "Jewels, are you coming?"  
  
Jewels shrugged and followed them. She had nothing better to do. However, she regretted it after. Zarine and Carrie went all out on the junk food. By the time they were making their way back, there were three big bags for each person to carry. Three of those bags were containing ice cream, popsicles, or ice cream sandwich bars, in other words, frozen treats.  
  
"I didn't know you guys liked ice cream so much," Zarine said.  
  
"Well, Jewels and I are just crazy about ice cream," Carrie told her.  
  
Zarine cheered, "Finally, I have found someone with ice cream obsessions!"  
  
"Ya, and you are the first person we met that loves ice cream as much as we do," Jewels said.  
  
"How do you plan on fitting all of these into the freezer?" the silver haired girl asked.  
  
Carrie and Jewels looked at each other and grinned a little guiltily. "Uh...well...Jewels and I cleared out the freezer of all the ice cream last night so we would have room for more."  
  
"And how much ice cream was there before you ate it all?"  
  
"About...three liters each."  
  
"WHAT?! Even I had never eaten so much ice cream at once. It's a wonder you guys aren't sick from it."  
  
After they had managed to fit all the ice cream into the freezer with much difficulty, the door bell rang. "Who can it be? The others aren't supposed to be here for another half an hour," Zarine said, puzzled as she followed Carrie to the door.  
  
"Hey!" Hilary, Max, Tyson, and Chief were standing outside. "We thought we would come early to help," Hilary lied.  
  
"That's great! We are almost done, but the quicker we get it done, the quicker we can have fun!" Carrie said, winking at her friends.  
  
They all helped pour chips into bowls, and set up pillows in the living room for the scary movie. Carrie glanced at the clock, it was a minute to six. Knowing Kai, he would probably arrive not a second later than six.  
  
"Zarine, can you call the pizza place and tell them that we want three extra large pizzas, pepperoni, cheese and Hawaiian," she asked.  
  
"Okay," she answered, going to the phone in the kitchen.  
  
As Carrie had predicted, Kai and Ray arrived right when the cuckoo came out of the clock, announcing the next hour. Hilary made sure that Zarine was still busy on the phone before waving and saying loudly, "Hey guys!"  
  
"Okay, Ray, follow me and I'll show you where to put your stuff. Kai, Max will show you where you put yours," Carrie said.  
  
Ray followed the redhead to the guest room. "Put your stuff in the closet," she said, pointing to the one closer to the door. "The other one has loads of stuff in it."  
  
When Zarine finished ordering their pizzas, she went back into the living room and collapsed onto the soft, squishy loveseat. "So, what should we do now?"  
  
"Let's get changed into our pajamas, so we wouldn't have to do it later," the brunette suggested.  
  
"Okay," the girls said, standing up. "Aren't you going to follow us?" Jewels asked at the doorway.  
  
"We don't need to change yet," Tyson answered.  
  
Zarine rolled her eyes and remarked, "Right, you guys just stripe until you're only wearing your boxers before going to bed."  
  
Once the girls were gone, Max asked, "What should we do while they find a suitable outfit to wear as pajamas?"  
  
"I know!" Tyson exclaimed. "We can, show Ray that thing...that Carrie told us we weren't supposed to..." (If you haven't realized by now, this is all just an act. It's a set up...)  
  
"What aren't you supposed to show me?" Ray asked, frowning.  
  
Kenny looked at Tyson with a mortified expression on his face, "No....she would kill us!"  
  
"That's why we have to do it now!" Tyson insisted. "So she wouldn't find out."  
  
"Fine," Max gave in. "Ray, follow us." Kai rolled his eyes, and thought, [How childish can they get?]  
  
Ray was, um, intrigued by this. The poor guy had no idea what Max and Tyson, or the others, were planning.  
  
"Ray, close your eyes, don't peek! It's a surprise," Tyson said.  
  
Ray obediently closed his eyes. Tyson's eyes widened, and looked at Max incredulously, trying to hold his laughter in. Who knew it could be this easy?  
  
Suddenly, Ray felt someone shove him. He immediately opened his eyes and heard someone screaming.  
  
"AH! What the hell are you doing in here? I'm changing for goodness sake!" Zarine yelled at him. She only had her pajama pants on, and was covering herself carefully with the tank top in her hands.  
  
"Sorry," Ray gulped. The door slammed abruptly and they heard people laughing outside. He went and tried to open the door, but it was locked shut.  
  
"Haha! You guys are not coming out until you make up with each other!" Tyson said loudly over the laughter of the others.  
  
Forgetting the fact that she only had a bra on, Zarine threw her top onto the bed and yelled, "Let us out!" Her fist pounded furiously on the door.  
  
"Not until you make up with each other," Max's reply came.  
  
"Ah!" she clenched her fists and sat down onto the bed, fuming. How dare they do this to her!  
  
"Have fun in there!" Carrie called.  
  
Zarine looked sullenly at the door, refusing to answer. Ray was having the most difficult time trying not to look at her. Unfortunately, she noticed him staring, and snapped, "What are you looking at?"  
  
"Um, do you mind putting the rest of your pajamas onto yourself?" he asked, blushing.  
  
She looked down at herself and realized that she hasn't put her top on yet. She had been in Ray's presence with only a bra on for nearly five minutes! Feeling the color rising in her cheeks, she hastily threw the tank top on.  
  
"It looks like we're not going to get out of here until we smooth things over with each other," he sighed. "Tell me what the problem is."  
  
Zarine felt disbelief at his question. Didn't he know? "I'll tell you what my problem is. My problem is that you're always with that bitch, Shea!" she said angrily.  
  
"Don't call her that, she's nice!" Ray protested.  
  
"Yeah, as nice as a bitch can be," she muttered.  
  
"What about those creeps you always talk to?" he demanded. He couldn't help but feel anger rising in him. He normally didn't get mad easily, but somehow, Zarine always manage to make his blood boil when they're disagreeing with each other.  
  
"They're not creeps! They're nice!" she said.  
  
"Well, Shea is nice too," Ray stated simply. "You haven't even talked to her!"  
  
His girlfriend snorted. "I had. I told her to stay away from you and guess what she said? She said that it's not her fault that you find her more attractive and like her better than me. Obviously, she was overjoyed at the fact that you spend more time with her."  
  
He was taken aback. There was a long and uncomfortable silence before Ray realized what Zarine felt. "Are you...jealous?" he asked slowly.  
  
"How can I not?" she asked softly. "You are always with her and you're never with me. Even at night, you don't come and talk to me, despite the fact that your room is right next to mine, and is connected by a door." She turned away, surely, Ray was going to end things between them now.  
  
"I'm sorry," Ray said quietly. "I thought...I thought you didn't want me anymore because I always see you around a couple of guys, and you avoid me. I suppose I should have talked to you first before jumping to conclusions. I felt angry and jealous that they always had your attention and I didn't."  
  
Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her in a tight embrace.  
  
"I'm sorry too," she said, hugging him tightly.  
  
Ray gently lifted her chin up to look into her eyes. "You still have doubts, don't you?" he said, frowning. He leaned down to kiss her.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asked softly.  
  
"Removing your doubts," he answered before capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. He moved his hand from her chin to the back of her neck, weaving his fingers into her hair. Zarine's arms slowly wrapped themselves around his neck, lost in the touch of his lips.  
  
"So, are you convinced that my heart belongs to you and only you?" he asked breathlessly after.  
  
She nodded almost dumbly. His kisses always managed to take her breath away. However, he had never kissed her like that before. They had always been soft and tender, but this one was deep and passionate.  
  
"Good," he said, smiling. He leaned in for another kiss.  
  
Outside the door, their friends had their ears pressed against the door, minus Kai and Jewels, who just thought the whole idea was too immature for them.  
  
"Guys, do you think they've killed each other?" Tyson asked worriedly.  
  
Hilary scoffed, "Get real, Tyson. They wouldn't kill each other. Even if they were, we would hear screams and everything."  
  
"They might have strangled each other," he said. "I'm going to go in and check."  
  
"Tyson, no!" Max hissed at him.  
  
"I don't care!" Tyson said. "I don't want my friends to hurt one another!" He quickly opened the door.  
  
Ray and Zarine didn't notice the others watching them since they were...um...they had their minds on something else.  
  
"What are you doing?" Tyson asked, shocked. "We told you to make up, not make _out_!"  
  
The couple broke off their kiss and saw that the others were staring. "News flash, Tyson, when you get into a fight with your future girlfriend," he said, his gaze flickering onto Hilary, "making out is always part of making up. The best part of it."  
  
Zarine blushed at his words, but said with a huge grin, "Now if you'll excuse us, we were still making up with each other. You said that we weren't supposed to come out until after we're finished...so..."  
  
The others got the message, but Tyson was still saying, "I still can't believe it," as the others dragged him out.  
  
Ray closed the door and turned to his girlfriend with a smile. "Let's get back to what's important." 


	12. Chapter 11: A Typical Party Game

Chapter Eleven – A Typical Party Game  
  
"I think I'm going to be scarred for life," Tyson grumbled, covering his eyes with his hands.  
  
"We told you not to go in, but you had to," Kenny said.  
  
"Ya. What if they strangled each other?" Hilary mocked. "Come on, this is what couples do. Make out."  
  
"Did he seriously say that?" Jewels asked with a laugh.  
  
"Yep. You should have been there," Carrie grumbled.  
  
"And get squished by six other people who just happened to want to listen into their conversation? I would rather that you tell me," her twin said.  
  
After twenty minutes of pointless talk, Max complained, "Aren't they coming out yet? How long can it take to kiss?"  
  
Tyson teased, "I thought you would know that, Maxie. Who cares? All I care about is when the pizza is coming. I'm getting hungry."  
  
"You should've said something, you dummy. We got lots of food," Carrie said, throwing a pillow at him. "Our parents would kill us if they knew how much we spent on junk food, but they're out of town, so what they don't know won't hurt them."  
  
"Or us," Jewels added. Then she shuddered, "Can you imagine if they forbid us to eat ice cream for two weeks?"  
  
Carrie also shuddered at the thought. "No way! It would be too horrible. I'm going to get some food from the kitchen."  
  
Just then the doorbell rang. "Looks like the person that Tyson wants to see is here!" she yelled.  
  
Tyson immediately jumped up to his feet and bolted to the door. "Yay! My pizzas are here!" The others hurried after him.  
  
Kenny corrected, "You mean our pizza. We have to eat too!"  
  
The navy haired boy opened the door and snatched the pizza out of the delivery guy's hands. He opened one of them and began to eat.  
  
"Excuse me. You have to pay for it," the delivery guy said disapprovingly.  
  
Jewels whacked Tyson on his head. "Tyson! You are not allowed to eat until we settle down in the living room. You got that?" She turned to the pizza man and apologized. "Sorry for his behavior. Here's your money."  
  
She turned to only find the bottomless pit starting on his second slice. "Tyson!" she said sternly.  
  
"Uh oh," he said, making a break for it with the three boxes of pizza.  
  
"You're dead, you, uh...monster!" she said, and tackled him. Luckily, none of the pizza flew out of the boxes.  
  
Tyson started choking on his bite of pizza. Jewels hit him a few times on the back, not too gently either. When he regain his breath he complaint, "You didn't have to hit me so hard!"  
  
"You're lucky I didn't let you die!" she snapped, picking up the fallen boxes. "Let's go and eat," she said to the others.  
  
Carrie came with a bowl of popcorn and chips each, behind her, Ray and Zarine came with drinks and cups.  
  
"What was all that racket I heard from the kitchen?" Carrie asked curiously.  
  
They made a circle around the food, lounging on pillows. Everyone grabbed a slice of pizza and a cup of drinks.  
  
Kenny answered, "Who else but Tyson? He started stuffing his face as soon as he saw the pizza."  
  
Zarine and Carrie both rolled their eyes and sighed "We should have known."  
  
"Well, at least, I don't try to swallow someone's tongue!" Tyson retorted.  
  
The silver haired girl's eyes turned dark. "Say that again?"  
  
He swallowed hard. "Um, I take that back."  
  
"If you say that again, I swear I cut off your tongue and feed it to a dog!" she threatened.  
  
The others raised their eyebrows in surprise. "Wow, I didn't know you had such a violent side," Kai remarked, taking a piece of cheese pizza.  
  
"It only shows up when I'm very angry, or annoyed," she explained, shooting a glowering look at Tyson.  
  
"Ray, you better not get her mad," Max said. "I would hate for you to have a knife sticking out of you when you wake up one morning."  
  
"Max, I wouldn't go that far," Zarine protested. Winking at her boyfriend, she said, "Who would want to harm such a sweet guy?"  
  
"Afterwards, we should play Truth or Dare!" Jewels suggested.  
  
"Truth or Dare?" Tyson asked incredulously. "That game is for girls!"  
  
"Don't be silly, no game is only for girls," Hilary snapped.  
  
"What about Barbies?" Kai pointed out.  
  
Carrie disagreed, "Nope, guys can play too. There are Prince Ken Barbies after all."  
  
"Yeah, besides, it's a fun game, especially the dares. I'll make Tyson pay for what he said!" she said, faking an evil laugh.  
  
Tyson gulped in fear. Who knows what she might have in that head of hers? Pretty or not, she's not a girl to cross with.  
  
"No way am I playing that game," Kai said stubbornly.  
  
"Fine, I guess you force me to exert my authority on you," Carrie said grimly. "Anyone here who doesn't participate in the game will be personally kicked out by Jewels and I."  
  
Tyson looked at her as if he would have apoplexy. "You can't mean that, seriously," he protested faintly.  
  
"I would advise you to do as we wish rather than face the consequence," Jewels said calmly.  
  
"Fine," he gave in.  
  
Max, Kenny, and Ray nodded in agreement.  
  
"Kai? What about you?" Hilary questioned sweetly.  
  
Kai grunted in reply, a deep scowl on his face.  
  
"YES!" the girls cheered, giving each other high fives.  
  
Ray sighed, "Guys, I don't think we know what we're getting ourselves into."  
  
"Let's finish our food before we start," Zarine said.  
  
"No problem!" Tyson said, grabbing two slices from the box.  
  
Everyone shot him a look of deep disgust, and averted their gaze from him.  
  
After they clean up their mess, they sat in a circle. "Who wants to start?" Kenny asked.  
  
"No, we need a consequence first in case anyone back out of their dares," Jewels reminded.  
  
Carrie's face lit up as an idea came to her. "I know! Whoever that backs out of their dares will have to streak their hair bright pink for the rest of the year."  
  
The others looked at her in horror. Zarine said weakly, "Carrie, you know that it applies to you if you back out of your dare.  
  
"Who said I was planning on backing out of any dares?" the red head said indignantly. "I never refuse a dare." She looked around her, then stated, "So that'll be the consequence. Judging by the look on your faces, you aren't too thrilled about it, so I doubt that anyone will back out."  
  
"I'll start!" Max volunteered enthusiastically. He looked around for his first victim. "Kai, truth or dare?"  
  
"Truth," he answered in a bored tone, with an extremely bored expression on his face.  
  
"Okay, did you ever like anyone, if so, who?" the blonde asked.  
  
A noticeable red tingle appeared on Kai's face. "Um...I liked Jewels and Zarine," he replied quietly. "I don't anymore," he added quickly when he saw the murderous expression on Ray's face.  
  
Ray relaxed, but he still put his arm around his girlfriend protectively. "Good," he said.  
  
Jewels, however, looked stunned. She never knew that Kai had ever had a crush on her. She had liked him too, but she supposed it was too late now. They weren't even friends anymore.  
  
"Tyson, truth or dare?" Kai questioned with an evil smirk on his face.  
  
"Dare! I'm ready to take on whatever you have in mind," Tyson answered confidently;  
  
"I dare you to not eat for the rest of the night," Kai said.  
  
Tyson's mouth dropped open. "Please, don't do this to me!!! I'll do anything, just not that, please!!!" he wailed.  
  
"You can always suffer the consequence," Ray suggested. "Would you rather have pink streaks in your hair for the rest of the year?"  
  
Tyson thought it over for a minute. "I guess I'm not going to die if I don't eat for one night...I knew it was a bad idea to play this."  
  
"It officially starts now, so stop eating that chip," Jewels said.  
  
"Come on, just let him have it," said Zarine. "It's going to be one long night for him."  
  
"Okay, Kenny, truth or dare?" Tyson asked  
  
Kenny sat there indecisively. What should he choose? Knowing that Tyson is out to take his anger out on someone, if he chose dare, he would have to do something really bad, but what if Tyson asked him to tell his biggest secret? He have this unspeakable one, he would die before he tells anyone.  
  
"Hurry up," Jewels said impatiently.  
  
"Um, dare?" Kenny answered in a nervous, squeaky voice.  
  
"I dare you to dance around naked and sing a Hilary Duff song," Tyson said. Before he had a chance to laugh, the girls all jumped on him, and started beating him up. The guys winced as they watched their friend fling his limbs futilely around to stop his attackers.  
  
"You PERVERT!!" Hilary screeched.  
  
"YOU'RE SO SICK MINDED!!" Zarine yelled.  
  
Five minutes later, Tyson laid on the floor, beaten to a plump.  
  
"That should teach you a lesson," Jewels said, satisfied.  
  
"Ow," Tyson groaned, sitting up. "You guys didn't have to be so hard on me! Everyone always pick on me."  
  
"New rule! No sick or perverted dares!!" Carrie said.  
  
"Fine!! Kenny, just sing a Hilary Duff song. Don't forget to sound like her too!" Tyson said, irritated.  
  
"Which song are you going to sing?" Max asked, laughing.  
  
"Uh..." Kenny said. "I don't know. I guess I'll sing 'So Yesterday' because that's the only song I know."  
  
They cleared a space for Kenny to stand in the front. Kenny started singing in a high pitched, girly voice, "You can change your life - if you wanna."  
  
Carrie suddenly jumped up and dashed out of the room.  
  
"Carrie, you're missing the best show ever!" Jewels said.  
  
"I'm going to be right back," Carrie yelled from the hallway.  
  
A minute later, she came back with a camera in her hands. "Smile, Kenny, look like you're enjoying this!" she urged. Kenny forced a faint smile, and Carrie took a picture.  
  
"Good!" Carrie said, laughing along with the others.  
  
When the song was over, Ray wiped tears out of his eyes and said, "Great job, buddy! It was really entertaining."

* * *

Short chapter, I know, I know. But I need to get ideas, so longer chapter next time. More dares, and scary movies coming up next.  
  
Zarine: Don't forget a little romance between Ray and me!  
  
Hilary: Why do you always have to get kisses and everything? I want some too!  
  
Zarine: Yea, from Tyson! starts running away  
  
Hilary: looks angry and runs after her You little! I don't like Tyson!  
  
Me: Yeah...don't mind them, they're just a little on the weird side...  
  
Zarine and Hilary: We heard that!  
  
Me: Oh no! I better go! I'll see you two days from now if they don't kill me first! 


	13. Chapter 12: Mixing up a Horrible Concoct...

Wow, I actually got 6 reviews, well 7, counting the second one that Clio wrote, in one day.

puppalupp2008: Dares between Jewels and Kai...well, I'm not going to tell you! Read and find out! Yes, I know that I'm so evil.

YamikaiemiBlackAngelMaritamai: Is there any way that you can change your name to a shorter one? Thanks for your ideas! I actually used two of them! Thanks, thanks, plus another million.

nise-angel: Yeah, poor Tyson...something is going to keep his mind away from food though in the next chapter. Can you believe it?

KesiThack: Thanks for the compliment. The mystery part isn't going to continue until after the sleepover though. And I got the name Zarine, from a book. Her middle name just came to me and I had no idea that it was actually a real name until later. Lol.

kanilla: I'm glad you got a few laughs out of that chapter. I thought it was a bad one too.

Clio36250: Well, if I told you what Kenny's secret is, then it wouldn't be a secret anymore. And I think the girls are having too much fun to just leave Tyson alone. I know I am! HAHAHA! (Another one of my evil traits is showing up...Oh dear...)

For some personal reason, 0bs3ssi0n has not reviewed. But here's a reply anyways.   
0bs3ssi0n: Have you even finished reading the last chapter??? Want to torture Tyson with me together?? I bet it'll be lots of fun! Update Changes! AND post that Harry Potter fic!

Someone deleted me from their author alert list...(sniff)...I just get depressed when that happens. It makes me wonder if there's something wrong with this fic. Don't bother commenting on this, because I know every reply that I get will be somewhere the lines of... "There's nothing wrong with this story," and so on.

* * *

Chapter Twelve – Mixing up a Horrible Concoction  
  
"Okay, Ray, truth or dare?" Kenny asked. He was still blushing furiously from the dare.  
  
"Dare," Ray answered uncertainly.  
  
"I dare you to carry Max bridal style around the block," Kenny said.  
  
"WHAT?!" Ray exclaimed. "Can't I carry Zarine instead?"  
  
"Nope," Kenny said. "And you have to confess your love to Max in a loud voice too."  
  
The black haired boy muttered, "Now I definitely want to carry Zarine instead."  
  
"That's very nice, Ray," Zarine said. "At least your dare wasn't as bad as Kenny's, so stop being such a baby."  
  
Ray muttered complaints under his breath, but followed everyone to the front door.  
  
He picked Max up, and started walking down the street.  
  
"We can't hear you!" Carrie yelled. "Start saying it!"  
  
Ray gulped, and said loudly, "So Max, isn't this a nice night out for a moon light stroll? It's what I've always wanted to do. You know, because it's....so romantic."  
  
Everyone started laughing. Soon Ray's voice faded into the night as he walked farther away from the house. They waited a while, and then they heard Ray's voice saying, "You want to marry me someday, Max? I want to spend every minute with you. Hey, maybe we should go to Hawaii for our honeymoon."  
  
The audience started laughing again. Ray's and Max's faces were flaming red by the time they came back into sight.  
  
"Nice one, Ray!" Kai managed to choke out. He was laughing so hard. He would have never thought Ray would do such a thing.  
  
"Great job, my love," Zarine complimented, grinning widely. She kissed Ray on the cheek.  
  
"I guess that was worth it," her boyfriend said, touching the spot where she kissed him.  
  
They went back into the living room. Ray started to say, "Carrie..."  
  
"Dare," she said firmly, cutting him off.  
  
"We will make a horrible concoction, and you have to drink it," he said.  
  
She shrugged. "Fine. Nothing can be as terrible as having pink streaks in my hair."  
  
"Wait here while we mix something nasty for you," he said, gesturing for the others to follow him into the kitchen.  
  
"What should we put in it?" Hilary asked.  
  
"Let's rummage in the fridge and see," Jewels suggested.  
  
She opened it and the others crowded in to look. "Everyone, grab one thing each," she said.  
  
Tyson was gazing at the food hopefully. "Tyson, don't even bother to try and steal. If I catch you, you are not going to get any breakfast," Jewels threatened.  
  
He pouted, "Oh, but I'm hungry already!"  
  
Max got a lemon, Ray snatched a jar of mayonnaise, Zarine grabbed an apple, Hilary picked up a can of tomato juice, Tyson chose a small bottle of Tabasco sauce, Kenny selected a bag of carrot sticks and Jewels took some cheese.  
  
"Kai, aren't you going to get something?" Zarine asked.  
  
Kai muttered something that sounded incredibly like, "Childish," under his breath.  
  
"Old Mr. Sour pants," Jewels said, glaring at him. "I'll just pick whatever for him." She just grabbed a can of Coke. She clutched it, and kept on glaring at the blue haired boy. She looked like she would like nothing better than to hurl the can in her hand at him.  
  
"We need more stuff," Tyson said.  
  
Jewels opened the cupboard. It was filled with all different kinds of food, ranging from sugar to candy.  
  
"Let's get some marshmallows," Ray said, taking the bag.  
  
"Don't forget some crackers!" Hilary reminded, laughing.  
  
"How about some flour?" Kenny suggested.  
  
"Flour?" Zarine laughed. "I know, we should add a scoop of ice cream too!"  
  
The gang mixed everything up in the blender. Its color slowly turned to a ghastly ud color.  
  
"Ew," Max said. "Looking at it makes me sick!"  
  
"CARRIE! WE'RE READY!" Jewels yelled.  
  
Carrie came and looked apprehensive as she approached them. "Pour it into a cup," she said grimly, ready to go through with her dare.  
  
"All right," Ray said. He poured the mixture into a cup and gave it to the short red haired girl.  
  
Carrie was about to drink it, but then a disgusting smell reached her nose. She stared down at the cup. "It smells awful!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Drink it!" Tyson taunted, "Unless you're too scared to."  
  
She sent a glare at Tyson and took a big sip of it. "YUCK!" she blurted when she managed to gulp some down. "What in the world did you put in this?"  
  
"You better drink it by the sink in case you puke," Kai advised, a smirk on his face.  
  
"What's the fun in throwing up into a sink?" she said, and walked toward him.  
  
"Don't come near me," he snapped.  
  
"Then keep your mouth shut!" she said, annoyed. In two big mouthfuls, she finished the blend.  
  
The others cheered. "I'm going to rinse my mouth and get rid of that horrible taste," she said.  
  
A few minutes later, they were back in the living room. "Okay, Zarine, truth or dare?" Carrie questioned.  
  
"Um, truth," Zarine replied. She didn't want to have to streak her hair pink in case she backs out of her dare. Even when the year's over, there's no way she could turn her hair back into silver.  
  
"What was your first impression of Ray when you first met him?" Carrie asked.  
  
Zarine blushed as she answered, "I thought...I thought he was really good looking and the hottest guy ever."  
  
Tyson whistled and nudged Ray with his elbow. "Did you know that she thinks so highly of you?"  
  
"Of course! She's my girlfriend, Tyson," Ray said.  
  
"Kai, truth or dare?"  
  
"Dare."  
  
"I dare you to let Carrie take a picture of you," said Zarine. "You have to smile and put your arms around Hilary and Jewels."  
  
"What kind of a dare is that?" Tyson asked.  
  
"Maybe it's not such a big deal to you, but to Mr. Hiwatari there, it is," Carrie told him. "When have you ever seen him smile for a picture?"  
  
"Why do I have to be in it?" Jewels complained grumpily.  
  
"Because I said so," Zarine said, grinning. "Unless you want to have pink streaks?"  
  
"Okay, fine," Jewels gave in and went to stand beside Kai.  
  
Hilary joined them on the right side of Kai. Putting his arms around the girls' shoulders, he smiled for the camera.  
  
One flash of light later, it was over. "I can't wait to develop this!" Carrie exclaimed.  
  
"Hilary, truth or dare?" Kai asked. He had the perfect dare in mind.  
  
"Dare!" Hilary answered without hesitation.  
  
"I dare you to kiss Tyson," Kai said, "On the lips." The others, except for Tyson howled with laughter when they heard this.  
  
"I'm not KISSING him," Hilary shrieked, pointing at the boy sitting across from her. "He has germs! I'm going to become diseased!"  
  
"No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Tyson cried.  
  
"It's either that or pink streaks in your hair," Kai stated flatly. "I don't care either way."  
  
"Oh fine!" she said. Putting her hands on Tyson's shoulders to stop him from moving, she gave him a quick peck on the lips.  
  
They both made a face of disgust at each other.  
  
The others smiled, thinking what a great couple they would make someday.  
  
"Okay, Jewels, truth or dare?"  
  
Jewels replied, "Dare."  
  
"Your dare is to eat a lemon," Hilary said, "along with the peel."  
  
"What is this? Dare-Twins-to-Eat-Gross-Food-Night?" the red head grumbled.  
  
Jewels put the lemon in her mouth bit by bit, trying to swallow the lemon as quickly as possible. "God, this is sour!" she remarked, squeezing her eyes shut.  
  
Carrie took the camera for a picture. "Carrie!" her twin whined.  
  
"It's going to be a treasured memory someday, so stop complaining," she said.  
  
Jewels scoffed, "Yeah, to you. After this, I'll never want to look at a lemon again."  
  
"It's better than pink streaks," Carrie reminded.  
  
After Jewels had finished her lemon, Hilary said, "Let's stop playing now."  
  
"I got a really good group dare for you to do!" Zarine said.  
  
They all nodded, not having any idea of what they were getting into.  
  
An evil smiled appeared on her face. "I dare all of you girls to sleep in the same bed with a guy tonight." (Just plain sleeping, nothing sick, all right?!)  
  
"Zarine, I can't. Mariam will kill me when she finds out," Max protested.  
  
"I know that. Don't worry Maxie, you won't have to," she assured him. "Hilary will go with Tyson. Jewels will go with..." she paused for a moment, looking from Kai to Kenny, then continued, "...Kai, and Carrie can go with Kenny."  
  
"Zarine!!!" the others, except for Max and Ray, complained.  
  
"You said you would!" she shrugged. "Besides, you locked me in with Ray earlier. Just call this my little revenge."  
  
They sent death glares at her, but she just smiled back at them sweetly.  
  
"What ever possessed you to go out with this little horror?" Tyson questioned Ray.  
  
"Tyson, even though I'm your nightmare, you still love me right?" Zarine asked, looking at him with puppy eyes.  
  
"Ray! What can I possibly do to defend myself against her? She's so maddening!" Tyson complained.  
  
"But lovable at the same time, I know," Ray said, putting his arm around her.  
  
Kai agreed reluctantly, "As much as I would hate to say it, Ray's right."  
  
Zarine gave Tyson and Kai each a quick hug. "You guys make me feel so loved right now. You still have to do your dare though."  
  
"Rats!" Tyson sighed.  
  
"Anyone want to watch scary movies and eat ice cream right now?" Jewels asked.  
  
"That sounds good," Zarine said. "What movie are we watching?"  
  
"Chuckie and the Bride of Chuckie," Carrie replied.  
  
"Those ones about the stupid dolls coming to life?" Hilary asked, dismayed.  
  
"Yeah, why, are you scared?" Carrie asked.  
  
"No," Hilary answered in a shaky voice.  
  
"Don't worry, Tyson will protect you from them!" Max said with a chuckle.

* * *

Yeah, this turned out to have less words than the last chapter, but it was a full 7 Word pages, not counting the replies to reviews! I know, it's not long. What do you expect? I wrote it in less than 24 hours. 


	14. Chapter 13: Chuckie Says, Boo!

Mariam will appear sometime soon. Yay, love for Maxie!  
  
I don't really know what happens in the movies, so if I write something that doesn't happen into the movie, just pretend that it did.

* * *

Chapter Thirteen – Chuckie says, "BOO!"  
  
Hilary's eyes were fixed onto the TV screen, staring into the evil face of the doll, Chuckie. Suddenly, the doll grabbed a knife and started stabbing at the man. Hilary screamed and buried her face into Tyson's shirt as blood splattered everywhere.  
  
"Hilary, get off!" Tyson said, shoving her off of him. "Stop screaming every few seconds, we're here to watch a movie, not hear you scream."  
  
Hilary glared at Tyson, and bit lip to stop herself from retorting.  
  
"Tyson, be nice!" Zarine scolded. She was lying on the couch on her side. Ray was behind her in a similar position. Ten wrappers of ice cream sandwiches, and popsicles, were strewn around the couch.  
  
The navy haired boy glared at her, but she returned the glare with a cheeky smile, putting a chip into her mouth with obvious exaggeration. He turned his eyes away from her and back onto the TV where Chuckie was busy disemboweling his victim.  
  
When the movie was over, Jewels removed the first video and replaced it with the second one.  
  
"So Hil, you have enough courage to keep watching right?" Carrie asked with a wink.  
  
Tyson laughed at the notion, "Ha, she's just a scaredy cat."  
  
"Of course not!" Hilary said, sounding braver than she felt. "I'm going to prove that I'm not by watching this without leaping with terror."  
  
"Good luck," Kenny muttered. He had just uncovered HIS eyes. (I thought his eyes were already covered! Lol!) He wasn't really looking forward to the second movie.  
  
"It's not that scary," Zarine said soothingly.  
  
"Are you just trying to say that to make yourself feel better? I could feel your heart pounding when we were watching it," Ray said.  
  
"Shut up! You weren't supposed to say anything!" she said, elbowing him in the ribs.  
  
Hilary gripped her skirt tightly as the movie started. As the movie progressed on, she found that it was harder and harder to keep her eyes open. Soon, she fell asleep, her head dropping onto Tyson's shoulder.  
  
"What the heck! Stop pretending to be asleep, you said you would watch this!" Tyson said, irritated. He was about to shake her awake, but Max questioned, "What do you think you're doing?"  
  
"Waking her up," Tyson answered.  
  
"She's tired, just let her sleep," Kai said.  
  
His mind wandered as he noticed the warmth on his shoulder. [Maybe it isn't that bad. She is tired and besides, she smells nice.] Tyson thought. [Wait, did I just think that? What's happening to me???]  
  
He looked around at his friends frantically, as if afraid that they had heard his thoughts somehow. Five minutes later, he decided to shift Hilary so her head is in his lap.  
  
The others acted like they didn't notice. One word from them and who knows? Tyson might push the brunette off the couch. Zarine yawned widely, and rubbed her eyes. She was getting drowsy.  
  
"Just go to sleep if you're tired," Ray said softly, his breath was warm on her neck, sending shivers down her spine.  
  
"I'm not!" she denied before she yawned involuntarily again. "Okay, maybe I am. I want to watch this!"  
  
"Suit yourself," he said.  
  
Hilary stirred in her sleep, feeling strangely warm and safe. Slowly, her eyes opened slightly. The sight in front of her wasn't registered clearly due to the fact that her vision was blurred. Opening her eyes wider, she finally realized what she was seeing. She screamed and in a frantic attempt to get away from that horrible image, she fell off the couch.  
  
"Hilary, what's wrong?" Tyson asked, offering his hand to help her up.  
  
"It was just that stupid doll on the screen," she replied, acting as if this was normal behavior.  
  
"I thought you were having a bad dream or something," Carrie said, trying to stifle her laughter.  
  
"Hey, you try waking up and seeing a doll with a knife in its hand, looking murderously at you!" Hilary retorted.  
  
Ray spoke up, "Hey, can you guys be quieter? Zarine fell asleep."  
  
The others' gaze fell onto the peaceful figure beside Ray. "You two look so kawaii together!" Carrie sighed, wishing that she had a boyfriend that was as caring as Ray. (Don't we all?)  
  
"I know that look, don't tell me you're lusting for a boyfriend!" Jewels groaned.  
  
Her twin turned red and scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous! I'm saying I wish I've managed to pick up a decent guy by now."  
  
"Uh...aren't they supposed to pick you?" Tyson asked, confused. He always thought that it was the guys who choose the girl. After all, men are usually the ones who propose, which means that they choose the wife. He worked out then if men picked wives, why not girlfriends?  
  
The girls threw him looks of disgust. "Girls have rights too, you know. Be honored if any girl ever chooses you," Carrie told him.  
  
Due to the lack of nourishment to his brain, Tyson failed to notice the real meaning in that sentence, which was 'You are such an idiot. I would be surprise if you ever get a girlfriend.'  
  
"Why would I want a girlfriend? Girls are annoying brats," Tyson said.  
  
"Excuse me?" Hilary, Carrie, Jewels, Ray and Max said.  
  
"Ray, Max, you guys are supposed to be on my side! Not theirs!" Tyson said, scandalized.  
  
"Well, you're applying that to our girlfriends," Max said. "Mariam is not an annoying brat."  
  
"Neither is Zarine," said Ray.  
  
"Tyson, I really advise you to shut your mouth so you wouldn't stick your foot in it any further," Kai suggested.  
  
Kenny nodded. The expressions on the female's faces were scarier than ten Chuckies put together!  
  
Max didn't comment because he was too busy eating candy. There were discarded bags of Cherry Blasters, Fuzzy Peaches, Gummy Bears, and Berries scattered all over the floor.  
  
They were silent for the rest of the movie. Hilary was too put out with Tyson to remember to scream. She didn't pay much attention to it since she was trying to figure out the things she liked about Tyson. After half an hour, all she could think of was his loyalty, courage and determination. She really admired those qualities in him.  
  
After the movie, they went to bed. Ray carried Zarine to the bed they were sharing that night. He covered her with a blanket before kissing her on the cheek.  
  
"Ray?" she mumbled as he was turning to leave.  
  
"Yeah?" he asked.  
  
"Where are you going?" she asked.  
  
"I'm just going to get changed. I'll be back in a minute," he promised.  
  
It was partly true. He was going to change, but he was also going to check on the others to see if they're doing their dares. He didn't want Zarine getting all excited and getting up to go with him. She needed her rest.  
  
He was just about to go up the stairs when he heard giggling. Turning around, he saw Max with a bag of candy in his hands.  
  
"Hey Ray, you want some?" he asked. His question was barely understandable since he was laughing.  
  
"No thanks, why don't you go to sleep?" Ray suggested.  
  
The blonde said flatly, "I don't want to. Sleep is no fun!"  
  
"Um...why don't you go and check on Kai and Jewels and make sure they're doing their dare?" Ray said.  
  
"Okay!" Max agreed enthusiastically. "I'm going to get candy to see if they would want some!"  
  
Ray sighed and climbed up the stairs. Max was so childish whenever he's hyper. He opened the spare bedroom that Tyson and Hilary were in. He smiled when he saw that Tyson had his arm around the brunette, and she was snuggled up against him. Maybe there was some hope that they would get together.  
  
Next, he went to check on Carrie and Kenny. It didn't surprise him that they weren't in any interesting position. Come on, they were two people from completely different moulds.  
  
"You take the bed, I'll just sleep on the floor," Jewels said to Kai. There was no way she was going to share a bed with him.  
  
Kai was surprised. He had half expected her to kick him out of her room, pink streaks or no. "You're the one who lives here, I can just sleep on the couch downstairs," Kai told her before turning to leave.  
  
"Are you stupid? If you sleep down there, anyone can see you and by this time tomorrow, you're going to have pink streaks in your hair," she said. A mental picture of Kai with bright pink in his blue hair came into mind, and she had to fight down the fit of giggles. She turned away, hoping that Kai wouldn't notice the wide grin on her face.  
  
"What's so funny?" he demanded.  
  
"I..." she laughed, "I just had an image of you with blue and pink hair."  
  
"It's not like it would improve your looks either," he grunted.  
  
"Yeah, but everyone will think you're loony," Jewels giggled.  
  
Kai looked at her intently, studying her face. "What?" she questioned.  
  
"You've changed a lot since I last had a real talk with you," he remarked, looking into her eyes.  
  
"It's hard not to change when you've hang out with Carrie constantly for the past year," she replied. She looked away, trying to think of a different subject. "So what will it be? The bed or the sleeping bag?"  
  
"I'll take the sleeping bag," he replied.  
  
"Good night," Jewels said, turning off her lamp.  
  
"Good night," Kai responded. The words felt strange on his lips. He had never wished anyone a good night before. It felt so weird, and he wasn't sure if he liked it or not. ]  
  
"Jewels," he said urgently.  
  
"What?" she asked drowsily.  
  
"Do you remember what I said last week on the phone?" he asked.  
  
"Huh?" she said confusedly, lifting her head to look at him. She tried hard to remember. "You mean....oh..." she trailed off as the memory of it came back to her.  
  
Flashback  
  
_The phone rang as she was finishing her last sentence on her essay. She picked it up and said, "Hello?"  
  
"Jewels, it's Kai," the person on the other end said.  
  
There was a long silence...she wondered why he called her in the first place. Then she asked, "What do you want?"  
  
"I was wondering if you'll eat lunch with us again," he said_.  
  
End of Flashback  
  
"I really meant it when I said I want you to be there," he said, cutting across her thought. "I know you said you didn't want to, but can you reconsider? I'm really sorry I was a jerk about the whole thing."  
  
"Really?" she asked, feeling stunned. She thought, [Kai Hiwatari, apologizing to me?? He never says sorry to anyone. Not even when he broke this guy's wrist during a game of football last year! He just said that broken bones should be expected in such a violent game.]  
  
"Yep," he answered.  
  
After another long silence, the red head questioned hesitantly, "Kai, are you still awake?"  
  
He grunted.  
  
"You can sleep up here if you want. I don't mind," she said.  
  
"Nah, that's okay," he responded.  
  
"If we're caught, we're going to be on the list of the people who came from Loonyville," she said. "No one's going to believe that we are trying to make a fashion statement with pink streaks."  
  
"All right," Kai said. He stood up, and because he couldn't see well in the dark, he tripped and fell on top of the girl.  
  
"Are you trying to kill me?" she demanded. It was then she realized how close their faces were. She tried to avert her gaze but she couldn't. It was like the depths of his auburn eyes were drawing her in.  
  
Kai reached out to take her chin in his hand, leaning closer to her face. [WHAT ARE YOU DOING????] his mind screamed. [STOP THIS MADNESS!] He couldn't. It was as if someone else was controlling him.  
  
Jewels' thoughts became incoherent as his face loom ever closer to hers. [What is he?? God...he's not...kiss? No? Yes? Can't be. How do I...can't let him...how did...]  
  
Max suddenly burst into the room, singing the national anthem. (I'm from Canada, so it's going to be the Canada's anthem!)  
  
"O Canada. Our home and native land..." he sang, stopping when he saw the position that Jewels and Kai were in.  
  
Kai leapt back from Jewels, they were both blushing furiously. "Max, what are you doing here?"  
  
"Oh, Ray told me to check on you to make sure you are doing Zarine's dare. I'm going to leave you so you can sleep now," he said, before skipping out and continuing to sing, "True patriot love, in all thy sons command..."  
  
Kai and Jewels sweat dropped and looked at each other, wide eyed. "I think Max is on a sugar high," Jewels said.  
  
"You think? He's got all the signs," Kai said, shaking his head.  
  
Max poked his head back in again. "Would you like some candy?"  
  
"No, all we want is some peace and quiet so we can sleep," Jewels answered.  
  
"You guys are boring. Sleeping is boring," he said, pouting. "No one is awake to play with me."  
  
"We all need to do sleep to have enough energy to play with you tomorrow," she reasoned, trying to get rid of him.  
  
"So you would play with me tomorrow? Do you promise?" Max asked.  
  
"Yes, we promise, now leave," Kai said.

* * *

I'm truly sorry for the unusual long wait! I mean, a week???? I always update every other day. I got lazy and I had to go out so yeah. I do have a life. Not this week though because all my friends are at a camp and I'm stuck at home. :( Well, not all, but most! 


	15. Chapter 14: The Tension Grows

YAY!!! I have reached 100 reviews with 14 chapters!!!!! WOOHOO!!!! I'm okay, seriously, I'm fine.   
  
Puppalupp2008: Ha. It's always funny to see people who are hyper.  
  
Anim3-anj3l: I try to update whenever I can. I had been playing RPG games last week, so I kinda neglected my story. But, I found that NOTHING is better than writing stories and getting reviews!  
  
Brandon McLeod: Haha. Good suggestion for a dare, but it probably wouldn't it this story. However, in my next one, the Bladebreakers are going to meet people who don't even know what candy is!  
  
0bs3ssi0n: Well, I didn't want them to kiss until they really know that they like each other. It's better to share the first kiss with someone that you know you like and likes you back.  
  
YBM: Thanks for the abbreviation. Now I don't have to look for the spelling five times before I can actually type your name out correctly. I'm glad you like the chapter! I had fun writing it instead of stressing over it. Actually, I did stress over it, because I felt bad for not updating for so long. At least it didn't take me a million years to finish.  
  
a-A-a: Even though Max ruined that little moment, we still love him! He's just too cute and innocent for us to hate.  
  
Kanilla: I just love watching my readers squirm and wait impatiently for a long awaited event. What can I say? I'm just evil.  
  
Bra-two: I'm so happy to have another reader!!  
  
Shandell: It sucks when all your friends are out on trips. I can't wait till they're back.  
  
El-drydzia: I try to make my characters as real as possible. It's hard though because there's more OCs in this story.  
  
Ihaveaname?: Great name you have there. :D SO happy you think it's great!  
  
Nise-angel: I am not that fond of Hilary, but I like making her and Tyson fight with each other.  
  
Sankikya2000: No offence, but what kind of review is, 'lazy'? I sincerely hope you aren't calling me lazy. I update a lot and I usually work on my new chapter everyday.  
  
A/N: If I don't manage to get the next chapter up by tomorrow, it's going to have to wait until Sunday. I'm going somewhere on Saturday with my family.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen – The Tension Grows  
  
Ray sighed as he walked back to the room he and Zarine were sleeping in that night. It had taken him forever to convince Max to go to bed.  
  
He got into bed and put his arm around the sleeping girl. Feeling the tension in her body, he took a glance at her face, and saw that she was crying in her sleep. He shook her awake gently.  
  
"What's the matter?" he asked, wiping the tears off her cheeks.  
  
"Nothing," Zarine answered. "It was just a dream."  
  
He said, "Okay, well, you don't have to tell me what it was about. Just answer this for me, do you have nightmares often?"  
  
"Sometimes," she replied. She wasn't about to say, 'Yeah, I have nightmares every night because I believe I killed my parents.'  
  
"From now on, you are staying in my room at night," Ray told her firmly.  
  
"But..." she protested.  
  
He cut her off, "No arguments. You are going to. I want to be there for you when you're upset."  
  
"Don't you get tired of it?" she questioned curiously.  
  
"Tired of what?" he asked, confused.  
  
"Having to comfort me so often," she answered.  
  
"No, you're my girlfriend. I love you and I care about you," he told her softly, holding her tight.  
  
"Thanks," she said gratefully, hugging him back. She felt so lucky to have him.  
  
Jewels was sound asleep beside Kai. He wondered what happened before Max came in. Well, he almost kissed her, which he knew, but why? He didn't like her that way or anything. Heck, he didn't even know how much she had changed, or if he liked the new Jewels.  
  
When Carrie woke up the next morning, she found that she was holding Kenny's hand! She quickly let of it in surprise.  
  
[Why on earth was I holding his hand?] she wondered. Not even wanting to think about it anymore, she got out of bed and walked out of the room to see if anyone else was awake yet.  
  
First, she went next door to see how Kai and Jewels were doing, only to find Kai gone. Then she poked her head into Tyson and Hilary's room. She had to stifle her laughter when she saw Tyson taking over almost all of the bed and Hilary squished to the wall, covering her head with a pillow in an attempt to drown out Tyson's ground shaking snore.  
  
When she went downstairs, she found that Zarine, Ray, Kai, and Max were already up.  
  
"Hey guys," she said, yawning. "What would you like to eat?"  
  
"I'll cook," Zarine volunteered.  
  
"No, you're the guest," Carrie said.  
  
"Don't worry, she's obsessed with cooking," Max said, grinning. "You'll be doing her a favor."  
  
"What about the others? The stuff will be cold by the time they get up," said Carrie in a worried tone.  
  
"I can guarantee they'll be up before I finish," Zarine told her confidently. "Trust me."  
  
Carrie shrugged. "All right."  
  
After a while, Jewels came into the kitchen and asked, "What smells so good?"  
  
"Breakfast," Kai answered.  
  
"I'm definitely sticking around for this meal," she said, plopping into an empty seat beside Kai. Carrie's eyes brightened at the sight of that. If Jewels was willing to be near Kai again, that meant things got better between them. An idea suddenly formed in her mischievous mind.  
  
By the time the bacons were sizzling in the pan, everyone was at the table, waiting impatiently for Zarine to finish cooking.  
  
"Voila, here you go," she said, putting a plate of eggs, bacon, sausages and toast in front of everyone. She gave Tyson a triple helping since he would be VERY hungry after that dare.  
  
"Kai, I got a dare for you to do," Carrie said. "Are you up to the challenge?"  
  
"Do you even need to ask?" he said. "You know I'm not scared of anything."  
  
"I dare you feed Jewels her breakfast, and she feeds you yours," she stated.  
  
Kai's mouth dropped. "What?!" he said, hoping that he had heard wrong.  
  
"What happened to Mr. I'm-Not-Afraid-of-Anything?" she taunted.  
  
Kai swapped plates with Jewels. "Hey! I never agreed to this!" Jewels protested.  
  
"So you want to be on the list of Loonyville?" he questioned.  
  
She thought about it for a moment. "I guess not..."  
  
"Good," he said, spearing a bit of sausage with the fork. "Open up," he said, smirking.  
  
After five minutes, he found that he didn't mind feeding Jewels her breakfast, or even minded the laughter of the others who were watching them.  
  
Later, the Bladebreakers thanked the twins for a great time.  
  
"I had a lot of fun," Zarine said, hugging Carrie.  
  
"Yeah, totally," Max agreed.  
  
"Let's get together and do something fun soon," Ray said.  
  
"Don't worry about that, summer's coming soon!" Tyson said excitedly at the thought of school being over. "No homework, no waking up early, no teachers!"  
  
Kai said to Jewels, "Think about what I said last night."  
  
They bid goodbye and they started walking down the street.  
  
"So what did you say to Jewels?" Tyson asked.  
  
"It's none of your business," Kai said coldly.  
  
"Did you tell her that you love her?" Tyson questioned. "Ooooo. Kai and Jewels sitting in a tree..."  
  
Kai bonked him on the head causing Tyson to yap in pain. "Shut up," said Kai.  
  
On Monday, Zarine rolled over and looked at the clock. It was seven. Groaning at the thought of school, she got up. She was about to open the door to Ray's room when he opened it.  
  
"Morning," he said cheerfully.  
  
"How can you be so happy? It's seven and we have school!" she said grumpily.  
  
"What happened to you today? You're a morning person," he said, raising an eyebrow. Then he added, "Most of the time, anyway."  
  
"Well I don't want to be a morning person today," she snapped waspishly.  
  
She was in such a bad mood, even Kai was concerned. "What happened to you?" he asked.  
  
She answered, her voice full of frustration, "Nothing!"  
  
Ray looked at Kai and shrugged. He was wondering about the same thing himself.  
  
Her bad humor continued all the way through breakfast and the trip to school. The boys didn't talk much. They were both worried that Zarine might blow up if they say one wrong word.  
  
Ray waited patiently for her at her locker, hoping that she might tell him what her problem was. "Why are you still hanging around here?" she demanded. "I can find my way to class. You don't have to lead me everywhere."  
  
He was hurt by her words. Whatever her problem was, it surely didn't give her the right to bite everyone's heads off. He was just about to open his mouth when Carrie greeted them both brightly, "Hey!"  
  
"What do you want?" Zarine asked.  
  
Carrie sighed. "Kai told me how snappish you were today. Would you like to tell us why you are making life unpleasant for innocent people?"  
  
Suddenly, someone hurled herself at Ray, knocking him over.  
  
"That," Zarine answered darkly, shooting a disgusted look at the girl lying on top of her boyfriend, "is my problem."  
  
"Oh my gosh Ray, I missed you so much over the weekend!" Shea squealed, giving Ray a big hug before getting up.  
  
He got up and said uncertainly, "That's nice," He looked at Zarine, who was now busy getting extra paper for her binder and judging by the look on her face, she wasn't happy.  
  
"Guess what?" Shea asked him excitedly.  
  
He questioned wearily, "What?"  
  
"You have been framed the second hottest guy in the school!" she replied. "Isn't that great?"  
  
"Sure," he said. Turning to his girlfriend, he asked, "Zarine, are you ready to go yet?"  
  
"Oh, what? Yeah," she answered. She hadn't exactly expected him to pay attention to her when that blondie was there. "I'll see you later, Carrie," she said to her friend.  
  
Carrie winked at her before walking away to go and find Hilary.  
  
"See you later," Ray said to Shea, putting his arm around Zarine's waist. They strolled down the hall, leaving Shea, who stared at them with her mouth open.  
  
She thought that they were supposed to be fighting with each other! Gritting her teeth, she vowed that she would come up with a way to break them apart.  
  
"What's gotten you so mad?" someone asked. Shea whipped around and saw her friend, who had black hair and grey eyes, watching her.  
  
"Oh, hey, Katie. It was just that Ray and his dear girlfriend had made up with each other. He even put his arm around her!" Shea said angrily. "Why would he even go out with someone like her? I mean sure, she's good looking, but compared to him, she's a _midget_!"  
  
"Well, they are going out," Katie pointed out. "They have every right to do that."  
  
"I thought I had him for sure. I will get him, one way or another," Shea said.  
  
Katie suggested, "Why don't you just go out with Leo?"  
  
Shea replied, "Because Ray is way better than he is. Didn't you see him beating Leo at basketball last week?"  
  
"Yeah, well, good luck. I heard that Ray and Zarine are crazy about each other," Katie said.  
  
Shea scoffed, "Like I care."  
  
Leo heard the news that Ray had took over his spot as the second hottest guy in the school with great dislike. What the hell did Ray have that he didn't? Girls were drooling over Ray instead of him, Ray was better at basketball than him...What is Ray going to take away from him next? His friends better not like him.  
  
Then he had an idea, if he managed to steal Zarine away from Ray, Ray would be heartbroken. Yes, he should do that. Zarine was the dearest person to Ray. She's the perfect person to target.  
  
Ray led the silvery haired girl to his locker. "So were you in such a bad mood because of Shea?" he asked.  
  
"Well, duh!" Zarine replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
"Are you going to be civil to people now that I've proven I'm not going to forget you whenever she's around?" he questioned, opening his locker.  
  
"Yeah, I guess," she sighed. "I just don't like it when people try to steal my boyfriend away. I'm sorry I was so mean to you earlier."  
  
"It's okay, I don't like it either when people try to take you away from me," he said, kissing her on the forehead. He took out his binder and said, "Let's go to class now."  
  
At lunch, the gang decided to eat outside since the weather was so nice.  
  
"Can we go for ice cream after school?" Zarine asked Ray.  
  
"No...I can't," the black haired boy answered.  
  
"Pppppllllllleeeeaaaaaaaaassssssseeeeeeee??' she begged. "Pretty please?"  
  
He touched her face affectionately and said, "I can't. I have basketball practice."  
  
"Skip it," she suggested hopefully.  
  
"No," he refused. "I'll take you there after, okay?"  
  
"Fine," she said.  
  
"Gosh, sometimes, you guys make me sick," Tyson remarked. "Do you have to be like that in _public_?"  
  
"Tyson, it's not like we're kissing or anything, why should it bother you?" Zarine questioned. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "Are you jealous because you don't have a girlfriend?"  
  
"Of course not!" he denied. "I don't even want a girlfriend. All they're good for is push me around like you're pushing Ray around."  
  
"AM NOT!" she said loudly.  
  
"ARE TOO!" he said, raising his voice.  
  
People around were looking at them curiously now, wondering who were fighting with each other.  
  
"Well, Ray doesn't have to take me anywhere if he doesn't want to!" she said.  
  
"But you'll pout for the rest of the day because you didn't get any ice cream," Tyson countered.  
  
Zarine thought about it for a moment before saying, "Yeah, but we're talking about ice cream here! Ice cream! You'll be sulking too if you don't have any food to eat!"  
  
Tyson opened his mouth but nothing came out. He could think of nothing to say.  
  
She stuck her tongue out triumphantly at him, grinning broadly.  
  
"Tyson doesn't get along with girls very well, does he?" Leo questioned, walking over to them.  
  
"Hey, Leo," Zarine greeted.  
  
"So, beautiful, are you doing anything after school tomorrow?" he asked.  
  
She almost turned around to look for who Leo was talking to before realizing that he was talking to her.  
  
"Um..." she said uncertainly.  
  
Ray stood up and warned, "Back off, dude. She's my girlfriend."  
  
"I couldn't tell. You were all over Shea last week," Leo spat. The two boys just stared at each other, the tension growing every second.  
  
"You mean she was all over me," Ray corrected. "I was never interested in her. She's the one that likes me. Besides, it's not my fault if she likes me more than you."  
  
Zarine suddenly had a feeling of déjà vu. That was what Shea had said to her. She stepped between them and said, "Stop it."  
  
"Get out of my way," Leo said to Zarine, his hands balled into fists. "I don't care who he is, I'm going to teach him a lesson."  
  
"No," she said firmly.  
  
He backed off and said, "Zarine, I like you, so I'll leave him alone for now." Turning his gaze on Ray, he said menacingly, "Don't think for a moment that this is over."

* * *

There are some great stories I think you should check out if you haven't already.  
  
The Blue Blader by sapphire-sword   
Chosen: The Lost Soul by Queen of Fantasy (You HAVE to read this. It's so wicked! It's definitely one of my favourites!)   
Only A Summer's Romance by Kai-cutie-angel   
Island Adventures by White Wolf Demoness. (This one is good too!)  
Dancing is Life by BaBeS7   
New Beginnings, New Love by O.o-GoDsMaCk-o.O 


	16. Chapter 15: Threats and Hooded Figures

Chapter Fifteen – Threats and Hooded Figures  
  
"So meet me here at five, alright?" Ray asked his girlfriend.  
  
"Okay, I'll see you then," she said, giving him a quick hug and a sunny smile.  
  
Ray made his way to the gym alone, thinking about how much he liked seeing Zarine smile. He wouldn't mind spending his whole life to making her happy.  
  
"So you're the new guy on the team?" someone questioned.  
  
"Yeah," he answered, turning around to look at the speaker. The guy was around his height and had brown hair with blonde streaks in his hair.  
  
"Hey, I'm Peter," Peter said, sizing Ray up with his dark green eyes.  
  
"I'm Ray. Nice to meet you," said Ray.  
  
When Peter heard his name, he grinned. "So you're the one that the girls framed as the second hottest guy in the school? It's a great honor. It'll guarantee you loads of girlfriends."  
  
They began walking again. "I already have a girlfriend," Ray said.  
  
"I'd love to go out with someone," said Peter wistfully. "I haven't dated in two months."  
  
At the beginning of practice, the coach, Mr. Frank, introduced Ray to the rest of the team. By the time practice was over, they were all sweating like pigs.  
  
Mr. Frank complimented, "Great job. Next practice is on Wednesday. Don't miss it."  
  
The other guys were all patting Ray on the back, praising him. "You were amazing out there, dude!"  
  
Ray thanked them all with a smile. Leo was the only who didn't speak to him at all.  
  
"Hey, Leo, didn't you think that Ray was incredible out there?" one of them asked.  
  
"Yeah, sure, he was good," Leo said, faking a smile.  
  
"I got to go now, guys," Ray said.  
  
"Hang around with us, we usually go and hang at someoen's house and then go and have pizza afterwards," a guy named Jason urged.  
  
Ray said apologetically, "Sorry, I can't. I've got to meet someone. Maybe next time."  
  
"All right then," Jason shrugged.  
  
"See you around," Ray said before leaving. He went up to his locker, little did he know, Leo had followed him.  
  
"Ray Kon," Leo said coldly, sneering.  
  
"What do you want?" Ray asked, annoyed.  
  
Leo grabbed Ray by the collar and shoved him against the lockers. "Stay away from Shea, and my friends, get it?"  
  
"No, why should I? You can't control who I associate with," Ray said. Who the heck did Leo think he is?  
  
"Oh, but I can. You never know what I might do if you push me over the edge," Leo warned, smirking. "I advise you to do what I tell you."  
  
"What makes you think that?" demanded Ray.  
  
Leo felt irritated. He vented his anger by punching Ray hard in the stomach. The black haired boy groaned. Leo released his hold on Ray, and he doubled over in pain.  
  
"Now tell me, do you want that to happen to one of your friends? Or even your girlfriend?" Leo asked pleasantly.  
  
"You keep your hands off of Zarine!" Ray said angrily. "She's not involved in this!"  
  
Leo's smirk only grew wider. He knew he had hit a nerve. "Well then, do as I say and stay away from Shea and my friends."  
  
Ray held his stomach, trying to regain his breath. God, that Leo was strong.  
  
"Hey, Ray, what's wrong?" Peter asked, walking towards him.  
  
"Leo," Ray answered shortly.  
  
"Oh, that rich snob," Peter snorted. "Whenever something isn't to his liking, he gets really pissed. Watch out for that guy."  
  
"Don't say anything about it when we see Zarine. I don't want her to fret over nothing," Ray said to Peter.  
  
"Yeah, all right," his new friend said.  
  
Zarine waited by the front doors, getting impatient. Where was Ray? He was supposed to be there ten minutes ago. She didn't want to leave to go and look for him, in case he was coming. She decided she would stay there, even if it took Ray two hours to get there.  
  
Then, a crowd of five guys emerged from inside. "Hey guys, look at what we have here," one of them said, checking her out.  
  
"Um, can you...can you tell me where Ray is?" she asked timidly, feeling uncomfortable with five guys looking her over.  
  
"Are you the someone he's supposed to meet?" a guy with blonde hair asked.  
  
"Uh, yeah," she answered. The door opened and she turned to look at the people coming out of the school.  
  
"Ray!" she said, going over to him and gave him a hug.  
  
"Hey, Zarine," he said.  
  
"Gosh, Ray, is that chick your girlfriend?" Jason asked in surprise.  
  
"Yep, she is," Ray replied, smiling. "Well, we gotta go now." He put his arm around her and they strolled off into the direction of the ice cream parlour.  
  
"What took you so long?" Zarine asked.  
  
"Sorry, the coach let us off a little late," he lied.  
  
"Oh," she said. "Hey, what do you think of Hilary and Tyson as a couple?"  
  
"I think they'll be cute together," he replied.  
  
"Cute?" she questioned, and arched her eyebrow. "I didn't know cute was in any guy's vocabulary. Carrie was just telling me how we should play matchmaker and set them up with one another."  
  
"Really?" he asked, distractedly. He wasn't paying much attention to his girlfriend's chatter as they walked. Occasionally, he would say, "Nice," or "Oh," and one word phases like that to act like he was listening. He was thinking about what Leo said. He still couldn't believe that bastard threatened to harm Zarine.  
  
"Ray!" Zarine said, shaking his arm.  
  
"What?" he said, confused.  
  
"I said, 'What favor of ice cream do you want?'" she replied  
  
"I'll just have vanilla, today," he answered.  
  
"How many I help you?" the salesman inquired.  
  
"I want two medium ice cream cones please. One chocolate mint and one plain, old, boring, vanilla for my boyfriend," Zarine said.  
  
They ate their ice cream cones silently. The petite girl studied her boyfriend with a frown on her face. He was so quiet, and he had a scowl on his face. She wondered what happened at practice.  
  
She took his free hand that was resting on the table in hers.  
  
Ray looked at her in surprise, and found a pair of soft blue eyes looking up at him. He had almost forgotten that she was there.  
  
"Ray, is there something wrong? You seem so quiet today," she said worriedly.  
  
"Nothing is wrong," he lied. "I'm just tired after practice."He felt bad not telling her the truth, but she really didn't need to know about Leo's threats just yet.   
  
"You didn't have to take me here if it was too much trouble. I could've gotten Carrie to come here," she said.  
  
"I wanted to," Ray assured her. "I like spending time with you."  
  
"Me too," she said, her face breaking into a smile.  
  
"I know you weren't really listening to me on the way here...so...wh –" she said.  
  
"How on earth did you know that I wasn't?" Ray asked incredulously, cutting her off in mid-sentence.  
  
"I have my ways," she answered mysteriously. "So do you think Kai and Jewels would make a good couple?"  
  
Ray teased, "Is discussing about others' love lives the reason why you wanted to spend time with me?"  
  
"No," Zarine denied. "Tell me, do you think they would?"  
  
"I don't know," he replied. "They used to be good friends."  
  
She asked curiously, "Why aren't they anymore?"  
  
"I'm not sure," he answered. "Ask Carrie."

* * *

"Sir, the people you have asked for is now here," a guy in all black said.  
  
"Tell him to come in," a guy with dirty blonde hair said, sitting on the 'throne' in the room. On either side of him were two other in black sweaters and had the hood up, hiding their faces.  
  
A tall, muscular man with spiky hair came in. He was dressed like a punk. "Sir," he said respectfully to the sixteen year old, bowing.  
  
"No need for formalities," the boy said. "Just tell me, can you guarantee that you will have Jewels Satsuki here by this time tomorrow?"  
  
"Yes," the man said, peering intently at the figure sitting in front of him, trying to make out the features of his face in the dim light.  
  
"This girl is extremely strong. Make sure you really can do this before promising me. Or else our master will punish you," one of the hooded figure said in a cold voice.  
  
The man declared confidently, "I will stake my life on this. Do not worry about the ability of me and my men."  
  
"Good. I'm pleased to hear that," the 'Master' said. "You will be rewarded greatly when you deliver the girl here tomorrow. Make sure you don't hurt her too much."  
  
"Yes," the man said.  
  
"You may go now," the boy dismissed him with a wave of his hand.  
  
The man bowed again before leaving. He couldn't help but shiver when he was outside. The one on the throne was freaky enough, but the hooded ones were even worse. He couldn't see any one of the faces. He got a grip on himself as he got into his beaten up truck. He was getting big money for this, so who the hell cares what his employers looked like?

* * *

Short chapter, I know! I didn't want to take a day off without finishing another chapter, short or not. Don't forget to leave me a review!


	17. Chapter 16: Pranks, Fun or Disastrous?

Chapter Sixteen – Pranks, Fun or Diasterous?  
  
Zarine yawned widely, and rubbed her eyes sleepily as she stared at the computer screen. It was eleven and she still had to finish her science research.  
  
"Miss, there's a call for you," the butler's voice came from the speaker.  
  
"Yeah, thanks," she responded before picking up the phone. "Hello?"  
  
"Hey, Zarine. It's Carrie," said her friend on the other end.  
  
"Why did you call now? It's eleven!" she complained.  
  
"I had to wait until Jewels went to bed to call you. So did you come up with a plan to get one of our ideal couples together?" asked Carrie.  
  
"No," Zarine replied, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder while typing furiously. "I didn't have time. I still have to finish up that stupid research."  
  
"Look on the bright side, you still have the whole night to finish it," Carrie reminded.  
  
Zarine said sarcastically, "A sleepless night, woohoo! Besides, I don't actually have the whole night, because before long, Ray is going to come and make me go to bed. It's like a crime when I sleep a little later than usual. They treat me like a baby, I swear!"  
  
"If you don't have any ideas, I might as well as catch up on my sleep," Carrie yawned. "Try to come up with something as soon as possible."  
  
"I've never let you down before, have I?" the silver haired girl asked, grinning.  
  
"But you have never done anything to make me leap for joy either," Carrie pointed out.  
  
"That'll all change when we get them together," Zarine said confidently.  
  
"Yeah, sure," said Carrie. Zarine could almost see Carrie rolling her eyes on the other end. "Good night."  
  
"See ya tomorrow!" Zarine said before hanging up.  
  
She turned her attention back to her homework. Sure enough, fifteen minutes later, Ray opened the door and asked, "Aren't you done yet?"  
  
"Does it look like it?" Zarine grumbled. "I'm never going to get it done!"  
  
He sighed, "How much do you still have to type out?"  
  
"Only about ten more pages," she replied in a falsely bright tone, putting an empasis on the word, 'only.'  
  
"I can help if you want," he offered.  
  
"Really?" she asked in surprise, turning to face him.  
  
"Yeah, give me half of this and then I'll type it out for you," he said, leaning over to look at her work.  
  
"Thanks!" she said. Taking advantage of his position, she gave him a long and sweet kiss.  
  
"I think that was he first time you've ever kissed me like that," Ray remarked, causing his girlfriend to develop a red tinge on her cheeks.  
  
"Ray, just get to work," she said in embarrassment, giving him a light push.  
  
Thanks to Ray's help, Zarine was finished in half an hour instead of one. "Thanks," she said to him sleepily in bed.  
  
"Don't mention it," he said, kissing her cheek, but she didn't hear it since she was asleep already.  
  
The next morning, Tyson woke up on time for school, because of Carrie and Jewels.  
  
"TYSON! WAKE UP!" Jewels roared. However, Tyson just turned away and covered his head with a pillow. "Wake me later, Grandpa," he said groggily.  
  
Suddenly, Carrie got a great idea. She taped Tyson's mouth and plugged his nose. Tyson had no choice but to open his eyes. They were bulging out as he stared at Carrie in surprise. He had never thought that she might be the cause of his death.  
  
The red head grinned and released her hold on his nose, then promptly ripping off the tape on his mouth.  
  
"OW!" Tyson cried after she had took the tape off. "What the heck are you doing here in my house? At this hour?"  
  
"We wanted to ask you something," Jewels told him.  
  
"You're here too?" Tyson said, noticing her for the first time.  
  
"No, it's just an illusion," Jewels said, rolling her eyes. "So out with it, Granger, you like Hilary, don't you?"  
  
He gaped at her like she was crazy. Him? Like Hilary? No way on earth was she going to fall for a loud mouth like her! "No, I don't!" Tyson replied. "She's an annoying brat like Zarine, less annoying, but louder."  
  
Carrie chuckled, "You better not let Ray hear that. She's not annoying, she just likes to mess with you."  
  
"You better get ready for school, or you're going to be late," Jewels told him. "You don't want that to happen again? Nowak is going to give you detentions for the rest of the year."  
  
"Actually, no," Carrie said with a wicked grin. "Something's going to happen this morning that's going to take his mind off of it."  
  
"Just get to school on time, all right?" Jewels asked Tyson.  
  
"Why?" he asked, puzzled.  
  
"Because you wouldn't want to miss this morning's show!" Carrie told him.  
  
"Do you homies want some breakfast?" Grandpa asked them kindly.  
  
"No thanks, Gramps, we already had something to eat this morning," the twin with the violet eyes told him.  
  
"Bye!" Carrie said before leaving with Jewels. On the way to school, they walked past two men smoking, but neither of them paid the men any attention.  
  
"Boss, the target has come out. We're now proceeding to follow them to the school," one of them said into a walkie talkie as soon as the twins were out of earshot.  
  
"Good work," a deep male voice came from the other end. "Make sure you don't lose them."  
  
"Roger," they said, and followed the two unsuspecting girls from a far distance.  
  
"Nice necklace," Hilary said to Zarine when she saw the rose on Zarine's neck.  
  
"Thanks! Ray gave it to me," she said, smiling.  
  
"You braided your hair today," the brunette said. "I don't think I've seen you with your hair up yet."  
  
"Nope. Ray doesn't like it though," Zarine sighed. "He said he likes it better when my hair's down."  
  
"What did you say to that?" asked Hilary.  
  
"I told him to get over it because it's not like my hair is going to be like that permanently," Zarine answered. Then she grinned mischievously, "Maybe I should braid it for a week to drive him insane."  
  
"You just love annoying people, don't you?" someone sneered. "I'm surprised Ray hasn't seen you for that annoying brat you are."  
  
Hilary and Zarine turned to look at the speaker, which was Shea.  
  
The petite girl shrugged. "It's just my way of having fun. Besides, I don't see Ray complaining for having a cute brat for a girlfriend."  
  
Shea's eyes smoldered with anger. "I'll get him one day, and when that day comes, I'll be the one who is victorious."  
  
"Get a life, cheerleader," Hilary told her coldly, glaring at the stick figure in front of her.  
  
Shea would have done something else, like maybe slapping one of the girls, but she didn't have anyone to back her up, so she just stalked off like an angry cat.  
  
"Zarine, Hilary! I've got news!" Carrie called, running towards them, carrying a black bag.  
  
"Hello," the brunette said. "What's in the bag?"  
  
Carrie's green eyes sparkled with amusement. "You'll see if you help me in my latest plan."  
  
"YES!" Hilary responded with excitement. "Of course, you don't even need to ask!"  
  
"What's your plan?" Zarine questioned suspiciously.  
  
"A prank on Nowak," Carrie replied casually.  
  
"What if we get caught? We'll be in a hell hole for the rest of our lives," Zarine said.  
  
Carrie snorted. "I've never gotten caught in my life. Look, I've been doing this once a month since coming to this school, and no one ever had a clue that the culprit was me."  
  
"I bet every teacher is going to be surprised to hear that Nowak is the victim. He's such a dried old stick," said Hilary.  
  
"Let's go to his classroom," Zarine said, more confident about this whole plan. If Carrie hadn't been caught yet, it wasn't going to happen, right?  
  
They made sure that no one was around when they went into the classroom. Carrie opened the top drawer of his desk, and made a space for the little creatures that was going to be put in there.  
  
"What did you bring this time?" asked Hilary.  
  
"Rats," Carrie replied absently. Hilary made a disgusted face. "Why aren't they thrashing around then?"  
  
"Oh, I fed them some pills that put them to sleep for a couple of hours. They'll be awake and terrified by the time school starts. Zarine, you can dump them into the desk," Carrie said with an evil grin on her face.  
  
"Okay," Zarine said. She didn't even flinch at the sight of rats dropping out of the bag like dead birds. "Done!"  
  
"Now we just close the desk, walk out without anyone seeing, and then we can enjoy the show in class later!" said Carrie.  
  
They sneaked out of the classroom, and ran outside, thinking that they were successful. However, they didn't notice a certain blonde who was spying on them.  
  
In history class...  
  
Zarine, Carrie, Hilary, and Jewels exchanged excited looks. "What's up with you girls?" Max asked them distrustfully.  
  
"The show is about to begin," Carrie answered in a quiet voice. She didn't want people to hear her and suspect anything.  
  
"Oh," he said, understanding the hidden meaning in that answer.  
  
After five minutes of the teacher's rumbling, a new sound can be heard throughout the room. Thud, thud, thud. Everyone turned to look at the teacher's desk. Bang, eep, rrrippp! Mr. Nowak stopped his speech about the feudal era in Japan to look apprehensively at his desk. The banging continued. He opened the top drawer and rats jumped out of it, running wildly around the room.  
  
Girls screamed at the sight of the rats, while the others laughed. People who were afraid of rats stood up on their chairs, some were on their desks.  
  
"They're going to eat us!" Gavin screamed.  
  
"CALM DOWN!" the teacher barked. He couldn't believe that his class was disrupted like that. "EVERYONE, SIT DOWN. THEY'RE ONLY RATS."  
  
Of course, no one listened to him. Shea and her group of friends kept on shrieking their heads off.  
  
"Great job," Kai whispered, impressed. But then again, he was always impressed by Carrie's pranks.  
  
The vice principal just happened to pass the class. She frowned when she heard the shouts and screams of the students.  
  
She opened the door and demanded, "Mr. Nowak, what is the meaning of this?"  
  
Feeling something clinging onto her long skirt, she looked down, and screeched. "GET THIS RAT OFF OF ME!" she nearly wailed. A moment later, she passed out.  
  
Chaos reigned through the whole period. The frightened rats were finally captured when the janitor came. The vice principal had to be carried to the medical room. Three men had to come before they could lift her since she weighed around three hundred pounds.  
  
After everything was settled down, the bell rang, signaling the end of the class. "If I ever caught the people who did this, I'll make sure that they get into deep trouble," Mr. Nowak said, infuriated. Steam was practically coming out of his ears.  
  
"That, I have to admit, was the most eventful history class ever," Tyson chortled in the hallway.  
  
"I know. I wish I had a camera to capture the priceless expressions on certain people's faces," Zarine said wistfully.  
  
Shea watched them with a malevolent glint in her eyes. It was Carrie, Zarine and Hilary who put the rats in the desk. Why else were they hanging near the classroom? The socials department wasn't an exciting place to be. She would tattle on them. Yes, it was the perfect plan to get revenge on that stupid bitch.  
  
At lunch, Ray pulled on one of Zarine's braids playfully. She whipped around angrily. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.  
  
"Doing what everyone's been doing the whole day," he said teasingly.  
  
"Well, don't!" she fumed. "I'm never ever braiding my hair again!"  
  
Ray only smiled at the expression on her face. He thought she was kind of cute when she gets annoyed.  
  
"I'm taking them out this minute!" she announced. Before Ray could stop her, she had taken the elastics out from the end of her plaits and began to unwind them. Her hair fell in waves behind her back.  
  
He ran his fingers through her curls, feeling the silkiness of them. She stepped back from him in surprise.  
  
"Why did you do that?" she asked, bewildered.  
  
"I like your hair," Ray answered simply. "And I've always wanted to do that."  
  
Shea watched their little exchange from a distance with great dislike. It was decided, she was going to tell on her, and her little friends

* * *

Haha, hope you like it. I don't feel like writing anymore today. So...the next chapter is probably going to be finished on Tuesday. I have to go out again tomorrow. 


	18. Chapter 17: A Plan Backfired

Hi people!  
  
Nise-angel: Haha, well Carrie is the Queen of Pranks, so she isn't the kind of person to freak out easily.  
  
Anim3-ang3l: I'm capable of writing people handling rats, but....in reality, I'll be too freaked out to do anything like that.  
  
Sankikya2000: Ray's not cruel when he's messing around with Zarine. He just wanted to tease her.  
  
a-A-a: You want Jewels/Kai action...the next few chapters will have them!  
  
0bs3ssi0n: Haha! I know, Ray's such a HOTTIE!  
  
Crimson Shadow: Hehe, really? Did she actually say that this was such a mushy story? Haha, sorry, I found this criticism funny for some strange reason.  
  
YBM: I like the prank too!  
  
Puppalupp: Well, here's your chappie!  
  
Anime-girl412: I hate Shea too! Along with all those people who said so in the reviews. Lol.  
  
Diamond Core: 'Will Jewels be all right?' That's a good question......  
  
O.o.-GoDsMaCk-o.O.: Hmmm, what can I say to your review?? Guess what? Jewels is not going to be captured by those smoking creeps.  
  
Kanilla: I'm surprised by how right your prediction was. :O Freaky!  
  
HeartKreux27: No, I would be too freaked out.  
  
Kagomewannabe-2008: Glad to hear that you didn't get into trouble for your prank. So what was your history teacher like? I've always pictured them as boring people who speak with thee's and thou's .  
  
I know you all hate Leo and Shea. They're the antagonists (the bad guys) in the story. They have to be there. You'll just have to put up with them. Hehe, I bet you'll be happy to hear that something bad is going to happen to Shea.

* * *

Chapter Seventeen – A Plan Backfired  
  
Shea knocked on the door of the history classroom, and opened the door. Mr. Nowak was sorting out the mess that the rats had left this morning. Papers were ripped, erasers were chewed...  
  
"Oh, hello, Shea," the teacher said.  
  
"Sir, I know who did this," she told him with a smile.  
  
"Really? Who?" he asked urgently.  
  
"It's Carrie, and Zarine" she answered. "I saw them hanging around here before school today."  
  
He suddenly turned and grabbed her by her shoulders, shaking her. "You're positively sure?"  
  
Shea held back a grimace at his touch and nodded. "Yes, I'm sure."  
  
"Thank you," he said, releasing his hold on her. "You can go back to lunch."  
  
The blonde made a face as soon as she was in the hallway. She couldn't believe she let that old geezer touch her. She desperately wanted a shower, but she supposed she would just have to wait until after school. At least that little bitch was getting what she deserved.  
  
In English class, Carrie was called down to the principal's office, and so was Zarine who was in Music. The redhead shot her friends a questioning look. Zarine looked as equally confused as she was.  
  
"Do you have any idea why you are here?" the principal asked them seriously.  
  
Zarine wondered how on earth they were going to get away with this. Carrie, however, handled herself expertly. "No," she answered innocently, and put a practiced confused look on her face.  
  
"Do you?" he interrogated Zarine next.  
  
Zarine copied Carrie's suit and put her best confused look that she had perfected over the years that was even more convincing than Carrie's. "No, sir, I don't know what we have done to land ourselves in here," she replied.  
  
"You are here concerning the incident involving the rats today in Mr. Nowak's class. Shea said that she saw you three hanging around the history classroom today. I'm afraid that the evidence points to you. Which also leads me to thinking that you, Carrie might also be responsible for the tarantula mysteriously appearing in Miss Cherry's lunch box last month, and countless other practical jokes that happened once a month." the old man said, starting to pace around the room.  
  
Carrie protested, "Sir, you have no proof that we did it. All you have is Shea's word. That girl hates us, and she would love to get Zarine into trouble."  
  
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," he said impatiently.  
  
"Good afternoon, sir," Jason greeted the principal politely. "I'm here to present evidence against Shea's accusation. These girls couldn't have possibly done this."  
  
"And why not?" the principal demanded. (I just don't feel like thinking up a name for him and he's probably not going to show up again, so why bother?)  
  
"Because they were with me the whole time before school started," he answered, looking straight into his questioner's eyes. "We went into the school through the unused parts."  
  
The aged man looked at Jason for a moment, before sighing, "Fine, you three can go. Just make sure you don't do something like this in the future."  
  
"Sir, if I may tell you about my speculation about this whole thing..." Jason said.  
  
"Yes??"  
  
"I believe that Shea was responsible for this and then framed these two innocent girls. I've seen the looks of pure hatred that she throws at them. I doubt that Shea has an alibi that can back her up that she wasn't the one responsible for this prank," Jason responded.  
  
When they left the office, Carrie asked Jason curiously, "How come you lied for us?"  
  
He smiled. "I did it in hopes of having a chance to go out with you," he said, and put his arm around her.  
  
She blushed, and said, "Sorry, I don't really feel the same."  
  
"Oh," he said disappointedly. "Well, I'll see you around. I have to get back to the auto shop."  
  
"Carrie!" Zarine scolded. "You should have said yes! I mean, he seems nice, and he does like you. You were just saying how you wanted a boyfriend on the weekend."  
  
Carrie sighed. "It's not like I like to turn guys down. I don't like him like that and I bet breaking up with him will be ten times worse."  
  
"Just one date," Zarine suggested, trying to persuade her friend. "Just go on one date with him. Maybe you'll find that you like him."  
  
"Yeah, I could do that," Carrie said, her face brightening. "I'll go tell him that I've changed my mind!"  
  
She ran after Jason. "Hey, I changed my mind. I'll go out with you," she panted.  
  
"Great! How about we go out for pizza tonight at Mr. Benny's?" he proposed happily.  
  
"Sure!" she answered, beginning to feel excited about this whole dating thing.  
  
"I'll see you tonight at six," he ginned, giving her a kiss on the cheek before going.  
  
Carrie had a smile on her face for the rest of the way back class. She had never had a boyfriend in her life.  
  
"You did tell him," Hilary squealed when she found Carrie at her locker. "Oh, Carrie, you're so lucky!"  
  
"Congratulations, sis," Jewels complimented. "I guess you won't be stuck with me at home on Friday nights anymore."  
  
"You know I like having movie nights with you," Carrie said to her sister.  
  
Zarine walked up to them, and told them, "I just found out that Shea got into huge trouble for the rats. She's going to have in school suspension for four days, starting tomorrow."  
  
"I normally don't like to have other people as our scapegoat, but seeing that it's Shea..." Jewels said.  
  
"I know what you mean. She wouldn't have brought it onto herself if she hadn't ratted on us," Hilary pointed out. "Let's go to science before we're late."  
  
In science, the teacher informed the students, "There will be another project. It will be done in pairs. I'm going to choose the partners for you so you wouldn't fight over who's with who..."  
  
The whole class groaned at this information.  
  
"Now, now, it'll be the last project of the year..."  
  
Just then, Shea came in. Her eyes were blotchy from crying and she looked a mess. Zarine couldn't help but get a feeling of great satisfaction. Surprisingly, she only had the slightest twinge of guilt bugging her.  
  
"I'm sorry I'm late. I was at the office," Shea explained, sniffing slightly.  
  
"Go take your seat," he said. "As I was saying, this will be done in pairs. Tyson and Hilary, Carrie and Kenny, Kai and Jewels...." He read through the list. "Zarine and..."  
  
Zarine and Ray looked at each other with a smile, maybe they'll get paired up.  
  
"...Leo."  
  
Ray's head snapped to the dark haired boy. He gave Leo a death glare.  
  
The teacher continued, "Last but not least, Ray and Shea."  
  
Zarine's face became horrified. That slut was going to be Ray's partner??? She took a quick glance at Ray and he didn't seem too bummed out about having her as a partner. The teacher explained what the project was about, but she didn't listen. She was too wrapped up in her own thoughts.  
  
"Go and work on it," she heard the teacher said.  
  
Leo walked over to her. "Hey," he said.  
  
"Hi. Um...I wasn't exactly paying attention to him, so what are we supposed to be doing?" she asked sheepishly.  
  
He chuckled. "Okay....we're supposed to..."  
  
Ray looked over at Zarine and Leo. They seemed happy working together. He hated the fact that his girlfriend liked Leo. He had tried telling her what a bastard Leo was, but to no avail, she just said that she would judge him on her own, and make her own decision about being friends with him.  
  
"I can't believe that I'm getting into trouble for what your girlfriend had done. It's not fair!" Shea whined. "Ray, do you know if she did it or not?"  
  
He was at a loss for an answer. He liked Shea, she seemed really nice. (A/N: Gosh, what a fool. Don't kill me!!) He didn't think it was right for Shea to take the blame, but his loyalties lie with Zarine first.  
  
"No, I don't," he lied.  
  
"Tyson! They aren't for eating! They're for our project, remember?" Hilary reminded.  
  
"Oh ya," Tyson said, "I was just so hungry I forgot myself."  
  
"Ah! I'm never going to get a good mark working with you!" she complained.  
  
"Hilary, I'll try really hard, okay?" Tyson said.  
  
"Really?" she asked incredulously. "Are you serious?"  
  
"Yeah, anything for you," he told her.  
  
"Oh my gosh Tyson, I didn't know you can be so sweet," she gasped, giving him a hug.  
  
"Hilary, get off," he told her embarrassedly. He hugged her back anyways and found that he liked the feeling of having her in his arms.  
  
"I'm going to the library with Leo," Zarine told Kai after school. "Can you tell Ray?"  
  
"Nope," he grunted. "I have to work on that stupid project with Jewels at her place."  
  
"Fine, fine, I'll go tell him myself," she sighed. She managed to find Ray at his locker. He wasn't alone though, a certain blonde was there also.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she demanded, distaste clear in her voice.  
  
"I'm just waiting for Ray, so we can go to my house to do our project," Shea answered sweetly. "Surely, it's not a crime."  
  
Zarine's eyes turned dark with anger. "I'm going to the library with Leo," she told Ray in a tight voice.  
  
"You're WHAT?" he yelped.  
  
"We have to finish that assignment, so we're going to the library together," she told him innocently.  
  
"Excuse us," Ray said to Shea before dragging Zarine away.  
  
"I don't want you to go," he grumbled.  
  
"I'm going whether you like it or not," she told him. "I don't want you to go over to Shea's either, but I'm not stopping you."  
  
"I don't like Leo," Ray stated flatly.  
  
"We already had this conversation last week," she remarked. "I believe we ended up yelling at each other." Sighing, she said, "Let's not go there this time. I may not like Shea, but I hate fighting with you even more."  
  
"Good point," he said. "It's just this once for a project."  
  
"Exactly," she agreed. "I'll see you at dinner."  
  
He gave her a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek before bidding her good bye.  
  
Kai and Jewels walked home together quietly. "So have you thought about what I said on Friday?" Kai asked.  
  
"Yeah, a bit," Jewels answered. "I guess I will...but what will the others say?"  
  
"They would love it. We talked about you all the time," he told her. Then he added, "The good things, not the bad."  
  
"You can have ice cream if you like," she offered as she opened the door to her house.  
  
"No thanks," he declined.  
  
"MOM!" Jewels yelled. "I'm home! Kai's here too, we're working on a project!"  
  
"Hello, Kai," Mrs. Satsuki said. "I haven't seen you around for a while."  
  
"Let's go to my room," Jewels said as soon as she had an ice cream sandwich in her hand.  
  
The smoking men were in a car in front of the school, waiting for their target to appear.  
  
"There she is!" one of them said, pointing at her.  
  
"Let's follow!" the other one said, starting up the engine.  
  
Kenny and Carrie met Leo and Zarine in the library. "Hey," Carrie said. "I didn't know you two would be here."  
  
"I'm going to get some books for us," Kenny told his partner.  
  
"Well, I'm not going to keep you two from doing your work. Come to my house at five thirty, okay? I have a date at six!" she said with a wink.  
  
She was trying to get some information on the internet with her laptop when it froze. She restarted it, but the same thing happened. Sighing with frustration, she pounded on it.  
  
"What's wrong?" Kenny asked, returning with a huge stack of books in his arms.  
  
"It's this stupid laptop, it keeps on freezing," Carrie growled.  
  
"Let me see if I can fix it," he suggested, looking at her laptop. Ten minutes later, it was up and running like new.  
  
"Thanks, Chief!" she said gratefully.  
  
At five, she asked, "I've got a date tonight, so do you mind finishing the notes? We only need a bit more."  
  
"Sure," he replied.  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow," she said before leaving.  
  
When she was walking by the river, she was suddenly grabbed from behind. She dropped the laptop in her hand in surprise.  
  
"Quickly, give me the needle!" a gruff man's voice said.  
  
Panicking, Carrie tried to wiggle free. She stopped when she felt a sharp pain in her neck.  
  
Feeling the girl go limp, he tied her up, stuffed a piece of cloth into her mouth, and threw her into the trunk of the car.  
  
"Boss, we have successfully captured the victim," one of the man announced.  
  
"Good," a man's voice chuckled on the other end of the walkie talkie. "Now get her there so we can get our money."

* * *

I'm sorry if you got two email alerts! I had to replace this chapter because I made a mistake! I was going to have Hilary called down to the principal's office, but I changed my mind.  
  
Poll: I keep on forgetting this....Which couple do you like reading about the best? If you have already told me, you don't have to.  
  
Ray/Zarine   
Kai/Jewels   
Tyson/Hilary   
Max/Mariam (I know, I know...she's not there yet. She'll appear as soon as this whole thing about the smoking guys is solved.) 


	19. Chapter 18: Missing

Haha, well, here are the results for the poll...There were nine people for Kai/Jewels, and six (counting my vote) for Ray/Zarine. I'm pretty sure kanilla meant that she liked Tyson/Hilary best in her review. And dragonwave likes Max and Mariam. There's Kai/Jewels action in this chappie. : )

* * *

Chapter Eighteen - Missing  
  
"Let's finish this tomorrow," Zarine suggested. "I have to go over to Carrie's."  
  
"Okay," Leo shrugged. It didn't really matter to him. "I'll see you at school," he said, hugging her.  
  
She stepped back away from him in shock. What was he doing? "Yeah, bye," she said hurriedly before leaving. That had seriously freaked her out.  
  
She made a quick stop at Kai's house, giving her stuff to Thomas before running to Carrie's.  
  
Being the two smartest people in the class, Kai and Jewels were gluing pictures to their poster already. They both grabbed the glue stick at the same time, and their hands touched. Looking at each other, they blushed. This was the fifth time that it had happened.  
  
"I'll just get another one from Carrie's room," Jewels said awkwardly.  
  
Kai looked back down at the picture that he was pasting onto the paper. "Good idea."  
  
He was so frustrated with himself. He and Jewels were very comfortable together, but sometimes when he looks at her, he found himself wanting to brush a strand of hair from her face, touch her face, or drown himself in her violet eyes whenever she made eye contact with him. It was so ridiculous. He felt nothing but friendship towards her, or so he thought.  
  
Jewels came back with another glue stick in her hand. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was five thirty already.  
  
"Where is Carrie? She's supposed to be home by now. She's going to miss her date if she doesn't come home soon," the redhead fretted.  
  
"She's got a date? With who?" Kai asked curiously.  
  
"Jason –" she replied. Then the door bell rang. DING DONG!!!  
  
"Talking of the devil," he remarked.  
  
Jewels ran downstairs to get the door, and was very surprised to see Zarine instead of Carrie standing there.  
  
"Hi, so is Carrie ready yet?" Zarine asked cheerfully.  
  
Jewels just stared at her. The blue haired boy said, "Wait, Carrie's not here. Isn't she with you?"  
  
Zarine rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't be asking if she was here beside me. She left the library half an hour ago!"  
  
"Then where is she?" Jewels demanded frantically. [Oh, what happened to you, Carrie?] she thought.  
  
"Let's wait until six, and then we'll go out and look for her, alright?" Kai asked calmly, taking charge.  
  
"What if she's gotten into a car accident or something? How do you know that something bad didn't happen to her?" she questioned, sounding nearly hysterical.  
  
Kai's auburn eyes widened. [Okay, wait a minute, Jewels doesn't lose control of herself! So why is she so distraught?] he wondered, confused.  
  
Zarine tried to reassure her friend, "She's going to be all right. Nothing happened to her. Maybe she just saw Jason and he dragged her off to an early dinner."  
  
"Maybe," Jewels said doubtfully.  
  
Before closing his laptop, Kenny said, "Thanks, Dizzi, now we can go home."  
  
"Yeah, good thing too. My drivers need to cool down a little," Dizzi told him.  
  
He chuckled and walked briskly out of the library. On the bridge across the river, he looked out onto the waters, admiring how the sun made it sparkled. Then a something sparkled on the ground by the river.  
  
Kenny shook his head, trying to see if he was just imagining things. A sparkle on the ground? When he looked at it a second time, he was convinced that it was real and not his imagination running wild. Curiosity got the better of him, so he went down there to investigate. He was really surprised to see Carrie's metallic red laptop on the ground.  
  
He picked it up, and saw that it was shattered. He couldn't help but wince. What could have happened to make Carrie drop it and damage it like that? Quickly, he ran over to her house to see what was going on. He arrived in time to see Zarine hugging Jewels in front of the door.  
  
"Hey guys! What's wrong? Is Carrie here? She dropped her laptop..." Kenny panted, his words running a hundred miles per hour.  
  
"Whoa, Kenny, slow down!" Zarine said. "What's going on?"  
  
Chief was so breathless, he just shoved Carrie's laptop into Zarine's hands. Zarine looked at it, copied his suit and winced. It was shattered and damaged, possibly beyond repair.  
  
"Oh my, that's her laptop!" Jewels gasped.  
  
Kai barked, "Kenny, let's go, we're going to look for her. Jewels, Zarine, you two stay here and contact the others!"  
  
"You want me to stay here? While my sister is in danger?" Jewels asked incredulously. "You've gotta be kidding me!"  
  
"Someone have to be here. Your dad is not going to be here until after midnight and your mom is at the hospital working in the night shift," Kai said.  
  
"Fine, call here right away when you've found her," she said, surrendering.  
  
"She'll be okay," he said. He surprised himself by going up to her and giving her a hug. "She'll be okay, I promise."  
  
"Thanks," she said.  
  
With a last glance at the two girls, Kai walked away with Kenny at his heels.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
Carrie was still unconscious in the car. The two smoking creeps stopped at the abandoned amusement park, and their boss came out from the Candyland house. The driver rolled down the window.  
  
The muscled man came said, "You got her? Good, get her out and we'll drop off the delivery and get our money,"  
  
"Sure thing," they said, and got out of the car. One of them opened the trunk and slang the girl onto his shoulder.  
  
Carrie felt herself being carried (ha, that's her name with a d) and her eyes fluttered open. Her body felt weak and her eyes fought to stay open. She fought the drug effect, trying to stay conscious.  
  
The boss knocked three times on the bedroom door of the Candyland house.  
  
The door opened and he led his minions down into a trap door, leading down to a tunnel. The tunnel was very dark, the only light source was from the candles spaced distantly. At the end of it, two cloaked figures stood there, guarding a door.  
  
"Good, Master will be pleased that you got her. You can go in," one of them told them.  
  
[Who on earth would want me?] she wondered. [It can't be a joke of Jason's, can it?]  
  
They went in and their employer was on his 'throne' as usual. "Master, I have her, Jewels Satsuki," the boss announced proudly.  
  
[Jewels? I'm not Jewels!!!] she thought, outraged.  
  
The man that was carrying the girl, dropped her onto the ground roughly, not caring whether it will hurt or not. He got the cloth out of her mouth and unbound her.  
  
"That's not Jewels!" the Master snarled. "You've captured the wrong twin!"  
  
"What?!" the smoking creeps blubbered. "I thought it was her!" "Boss, you have to believe us..." "He was the one..." "We saw the other..."  
  
"SILENCE!" a cloaked figure barked. "How dare you behave so in Master's presence?"  
  
The men stopped and stared at them sullenly. "Explain!" the Master ordered, pointing at the taller man.  
  
"You see, sir, the boss told us that this Jewels girl had a rare tone of red hair. Coppery red, I believe he said. He also told us that she was capable of doing great damage but doesn't really look like it," the man defended. "We thought it was the shorter twin because she was the one that looked the most like she couldn't do much damage."  
  
"That is no excuse!" the Master snarled. He turned his attention the muscled man, "Did you specific that Jewels had violet eyes while this twin has green? Well did you?"  
  
"N...n..o..o" the man stammered. "I thought they weren't such dunderheads."  
  
The teen on the chair rang a bell and ten men with cloaks came running to his command.  
  
"Get them out of my sight and give them the usual punishment. Half of you, stay, I must get Jewels tonight," he growled.  
  
Carrie looked at one people referred to Master all the time and wondered who he was. His voice sounded so familiar, but she just couldn't remember who it belonged to.  
  
"Gosh, they must be pretty useless if they couldn't even tell Jewels and I apart, considering how much different we look," Carrie drawled. "And how much money did you pay them? I hope you didn't lose too much spending on them."  
  
"So you're awake," the Master said. "You should really shut your mouth before I do it for you."  
  
"What? Everyone makes mistakes, yours was just dumber than most," she smirked, ignoring his order.  
  
In two strides he reached her and slapped her across the face. "Shut up, you little bitch!"  
  
She looked unflinchingly at him. "Don't like to know the truth now, do you?" she asked.  
  
"Get this wench out of my sight!" the teen shouted. "Beat her! Don't go easy either!"  
  
A cloaked figure grabbed her arm and dragged her by her hair to a cell. He closed the door and started beating her. Carrie screamed with pain as he hit her with a baseball bat over and over again, and finally lost consciousness once more.  
  
Jewels and Zarine went into the house after Kai and Kenny had left. "Do you really believe that Carrie is going to be fine?" Jewels asked.  
  
Abruptly, lightning flashed in the sky, and thunder shook the ground.  
  
"Uh oh," Jewels said. "RAIN!"  
  
"Yes, I do. She is more than capable of taking care of herself," Zarine answered.  
  
"Do you want anything? You can have anything you like," Jewels offered.  
  
"A cup of water would be nice," Zarine responded.  
  
They went into the kitchen. Suddenly, a rock hit the window, and if Zarine hadn't ducked in time, it would probably had smashed her head open.  
  
Jewels gasped, "Are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I am, but I'm afraid your tile isn't," the petite girl replied, pointing the smashed tile.  
  
"There's a note stuck to the rock," Jewels said. Detaching the piece of paper, she read, "If you want to see your sister, I suggest you go to the forest by the terrace alone, right now."  
  
"Does it have a signature?" questioned Zarine.  
  
Jewels looked over the piece of paper. "Nope, nothing."  
  
"You're not going there alone. I'll be coming with you," Zarine said.  
  
"I never said you can come," Jewels reminded.  
  
"I never asked," Zarine countered. "I wasn't asking permission because I'm going whether you want me to or not."  
  
"You're used to getting your own way, aren't you?" her friend laughed softly.  
  
Zarine grinned. "Yeah, my family tried not to spoil me, but it's hopeless. They always give in to what I want in the end. Let's go to that forest."  
  
Kai and Kenny had split up to cover more ground. When Kenny passed by Tyson's dojo, he decided to ask Tyson to help.  
  
He ran inside and didn't even answer Grandpa when he said, "Hi, lil' dude!"  
  
"Tyson!" Kenny said. "Carrie's missing!"  
  
Tyson ignored him and continued fighting with Hilary. "It's not my fault I'm so bad at cutting!"  
  
"Then you should let me do it!" Hilary complained. "Instead of messing it up!" Then she spotted Kenny. "Oh hi, Kenny.  
  
Tyson turned around and greeted, "Hey, what are you doing here?"  
  
"Carrie's missing!" Kenny answered.  
  
"Wait, Chief, are you sure she's not on her date?" Hilary asked.  
  
He explained everything quickly and after, Tyson said, "Well, let's go already!"  
  
They went their separate ways. Hilary met up with Zarine and Jewels during her search. Her friends updated her on the latest news and she decided to tag along with them.  
  
When they arrived, three teens around seventeen were waiting for them.  
  
"I thought I told you to come alone," one of them snapped at Jewels.  
  
"I'm here, so who cares. What do you want?" Jewels demanded.  
  
"You're going to come with us," he stated. "Quietly."  
  
"And if I don't?" she challenged.  
  
Little did the girls know that there were other people behind them, trees hiding from the girls' sight. That person grabbed Hilary and pointed a gun at her head. Hilary's eyes widened in fear.  
  
He threatened, "I'm going to kill her if you don't, so you better come quietly with us."  
  
Jewels nodded in defeat. The teenagers began walking, still holding Hilary hostage. Jewels walked with them, and whispered to Zarine, "Find the others and tell them about this."  
  
Zarine nodded slightly to avoid attention. "If you think we're going to let you go and alert your friends, you're wrong," the leader of the band sneered at her.  
  
The last two people came out from hiding and grabbed her in a painful grasp.  
  
"Zarine!" Jewels cried.  
  
One of the teens poked a pistol at her back, forcing her to move towards the car.  
  
She couldn't help the tears running down her face as she glanced back and saw those two guys hitting Zarine over and over again. What had she gotten her friends into?  
  
When Ray arrived back at Kai's mansion, he found that Kai and Zarine were still out. He began to feel worry and called Kai's cell.  
  
"Kai, where are you?" Ray asked.  
  
"Didn't Zarine or Jewels tell you about Carrie's disappearance?" Kai responded.  
  
"No," Ray said.  
  
"Okay, go to Jewels' and see what's going on. I'm going to meet you there," Kai said.  
  
Ray hung up and ran all the way to the twins' house, not caring that the mud was dirtying his pants, or that he was getting soaked. Zarine was the only thing on his mind. He feared the worst when he saw the windows all dark, with no light shining through.  
  
Kai came running with Tyson, Max and Kenny behind him, even more soaked than Ray was. "Let's try opening the door," Tyson suggested.  
  
Kenny turned the door knob and the door opened easily. "What's going on here?" Ray asked angrily. He wanted to know where Zarine was. He wanted to know that she was alright!  
  
"Jewels? Zarine?" Kai called. He walked into the kitchen and turned on the lights.  
  
Kenny gasped when he saw the broken window. "What happened in here?" Tyson wondered, speaking out the thought that was in everyone's minds.  
  
"Look, a note," Max said, pointing to a piece of paper on the counter.  
  
Kai read it out loud and swore. "That must be where they are! I told them to stay here!"  
  
"Let's go!" Ray said urgently. "We've got to help them!"  
  
Zarine lay on the ground, pain shooting through every nerve in her body. "Let's go back to the amusement park. Master will be wondering where we are," she heard one of her torturers said before blacking out.  
  
"What about her?" the other questioned.  
  
"Oh, just inject this in her. She wouldn't be able to move when she wakes up," the first guy said, throwing a needle to the younger boy.  
  
"What if she isn't unconscious?" the younger one asked.  
  
The one who was in charge sighed with frustration, "One slam like this will assure us that she will be unconscious." With that said, he slammed her head against a tree trunk, causing another trickle of blood to leak from her head.  
  
Rain pounded down her body. She woke up later with her head throbbing. [Where am I?] she thought. [Why am I here?]  
  
Then the memories came flooding back to her. The images flashed through her head. Hilary, being threatened by those cloaked guys to those two people hitting her again and again like she was a punching bag or something. She had to get help.  
  
With every bit of strength that she could muster, she tried to roll onto her stomach and crawl out of the forest at least. However, her arms wouldn't support her and she ended up falling flat on her face. Feeling helpless, she started to cry. Here she was, just lying there when her friends were in danger.  
  
Suddenly, she heard footsteps and branches crunching. Weakly, she lifted her head to look at the people who were approaching.  
  
"Zarine!" Ray cried, dropping beside her, and drew her to him.  
  
"Ray! You have to get help. They've got Jewels, Hilary and Carrie. I only heard them say that they were going to the amusement park or something. They called someone 'Master' but I didn't know who they were talking about," she said, sobbing with worry, and shivering with the cold.  
  
"It's okay. We'll get them back," Ray soothed. Feeling the heat of her body, he touched her forehead and found that it was boiling. "Oh no, you have a fever."  
  
"Ray, you get Zarine back to my place and the rest of us will go and get the girls," Kai said.  
  
Ray nodded. "All right. Good luck."

* * *

Haha! Yes! Another chappie done!  
  
Here's another poll: When should Kai and Jewels kiss?  
  
1) When they realize their feelings for each other   
2) Their kiss should be on the spur of the moment, leaving them confuse and everything   
3) I don't care, just get them to kiss! 


	20. Chapter 19: Pictures of the Past

Mariam4Max: Me??? Implying that Carrie and Kenny are together? Wow, what a weird idea, all they're doing is a project together....strange...I only do Zarine's eye color sometimes, and it's usually painfully obvious what's she's feeling, or else I'll say so. The only example where I don't say anything is the soft blue color that Ray sees sometimes, for my own reasons. Do you not like this fic or something? I'm just wondering since you used the word, 'forced.'  
  
Clio36250: No internet.......That must have been dreadful!  
  
Minijkitty: Thanks for the suggestion, but I already have something planned.  
  
Lady Knight Arianna: As much as I want to finish a chapter everyday, I can't unless I spend a whole day on it. I'm slow at writing, unless I really know every detail in the next chapter.  
  
Nise-angel: Your response to the poll was exactly (okay, so you didn't use the exact words) like 0bs3ssi0n's. O.O Freaky! I mean, the thing with the Ah! in the exact same place?  
  
City Games: Thanks for the compliments!!  
  
I'm surprised that no one knows who the heck this 'Master' person is. He's appeared before.....and from the descriptions, you should be able to find out. Some people think he's Leo, but why would he want Jewels, but not Zarine? Think about it...it doesn't make sense.  
  
Results for the poll.....(This took me forever to get right!)  
  
With 11 votes...THE WINNER IS #2, a spur of the moment kiss. Coming in second...with 7 votes #3 I don't care! Just get them to kiss already! In third, #1 Kiss when they realize their feelings for each other, got 6 votes.  
  
Oh ya, I'm sorry if the last chappie was confusing, I did my best.

* * *

Chapter Nineteen – Pictures of the Past  
  
"Where do you think we're going?" Hilary asked Jewels in a whisper. They were walking in the same tunnel that Carrie had been through just an hour ago.  
  
One of the guys jabbed the brunette on the back with his gun. "No talking," he grunted. Hilary couldn't help but shiver. One pull on the trigger and it's hello to heaven.  
  
Jewels tried to think up of something to help them escape. She could always knock the fella in the front unconscious, but there were two others behind her with guns. She dismissed that idea. It would get them killed for sure and that was not the plan.  
  
The girls followed the guys in front of them around the corner, and they saw two other people there, guarding a metal door. The torches they were holding cast a bright light, revealing their deep scars on their faces even in the shadows of their hoods.  
  
"Bring them in," one of the two guards told his fellow criminals, while the other opened the door for them to go through.  
  
"I welcome you with my warmest regards, Jewels Satsuki," someone said.  
  
Jewels and Hilary looked up at the figure sitting on an ornate chair that looked over decorated. He was the only one around the room that wasn't wearing a black cloak.  
  
The three guys that captured the girls knelt on the ground. "We have Jewels, just like you ordered, sir," one of them announced.  
  
"Good job, but why is Hilary here?" 'Master' questioned.  
  
Jewels felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. She knew that voice. It was familiar, but where had she heard it before?  
  
"We had to threaten to hurt Hilary before Jewels would come quietly with us," another answered.  
  
"Oh, I see, put Hilary into a cell," 'Master' commanded, unconcerned. "I have to speak to Jewels alone,"  
  
The men with black cloaks slowly exited through a side door silently. Two of them grabbed Hilary and dragged her to a cell.  
  
"Who are you?" Jewels demanded, looking intently at him. The shadows hid the features of his face and she couldn't tell who he was.  
  
"Do you really have no idea?" the teen on the chair asked amusedly.  
  
"Why would I know anyone like you?" she spat.  
  
"Think," he said softly. "Think back to why you and Kai stopped talking to each other."  
  
She didn't need to, the memory of it was as sharp as if it happened a minute ago. For a moment, she felt anger and resentment rising in her again, like so many times before. "I don't need a reminder," she said, irritated.  
  
"You are still mad at Kai, aren't you?" he said. "You're still resenting the fact he told you to stay behind because he thought you couldn't handle being there. Even though he was wrong about it, he wouldn't admit that he made a mistake. He acted as if he couldn't care less about you after that, and you pretended that it didn't bother you. But it did, it tortured the both of you because deep down, you two loved each other," he said, each word louder than the last, until his last five words was a shout.  
  
"SHUT UP!" she yelled. "IT'S NOT TRUE! I HAVE NEVER LOVED HIM IN MY LIFE! I HAVE NEVER LOVED ANYONE EXCEPT FOR CARRIE!" Tears were prickling at the back of her eyes, threatening to spill. It wasn't true. It wasn't true. It couldn't be true, because it just couldn't!  
  
"Why don't you replay what happened the week that you found out Kai's secrets in your mind?" he suggested, chuckling softly.

* * *

Flashback  
  
Kai and Jewels were at a café after school. It was Friday and they were going to a movie afterwards.  
  
Suddenly, music could be heard from Kai's pocket. He answered it and after he hung up, he said, "Jewels, I have to go somewhere. I can't go to the movies with you, maybe tomorrow?"  
  
Jewels felt angry, and told him coldly, "You never have time for me anymore! This is the first time that we had actually spent some time together. Tell whoever that was that you will talk to them later because you have to go to see a movie with me."  
  
He ran his hand over his two toned hair impatiently. "I can't! I really have to go. You don't understand! I'll make it up to you, okay?"  
  
"No, explain things to me. Explain why you never have time for your best friend anymore. I don't get it! I don't get why you're doing this!" she said furiously, her hands balled into fists.  
  
Kai felt more frustrated than ever. He already had a lot of problems and he didn't need his so called best friend to cause him even more. Trying to keep his cool, he said calmly, "I'll explain it later."  
  
"Later, later, that's all you ever say! Well, I'm sick of you always trying to put things off between us. I thought I was more important to you than that," she said sadly.  
  
He stood there silently, just watching her. She was important to him, but for some reason, he couldn't say it. She also kept her gaze on him, desperately hoping that he would say the one thing that she wanted and needed to hear more anything at the moment.  
  
Instead he said, "Look, I have to go. I'll call you later." Standing up, he gave her one last apologetic look before leaving her sitting at the booth. Jewels looked after him, wondering where he was going. Then an idea came to her, why should she stay here and get left behind every time he leaves because of an 'emergency'? Throwing some money on the table, she left the little café in a hurry.  
  
Turning around the corner, she wondered where he was, silently cursing his long and swift strides. She looked around for him, and finally spotted his long scarf just disappearing from view into an alley. Staying as quiet as possible, she followed him. She was all too familiar with his uncanny ability to detect someone's presence within a hundred meter.  
  
After a while, a junk yard came into view and Kai pushed to gate open to go into it.  
  
[Why is he here?] Jewels wondered.  
  
"Hey, took you long enough to get here, Kai," someone said. Jewels almost giggled in spite of herself when she heard the person's voice. It sounded like he was on helium or something.  
  
"Jewels kept on bugging me about how I don't spend time with her anymore and all that crap," Kai responded, jumping up to sit on top of a car.  
  
The red head stood outside the gates, hidden by piles of garbage, able to hear every word clearly. She felt hurt and angry, but she stayed to eavesdrop so she would know what was up with Kai.  
  
"What big news do you have to call me all the way here? It better be good or you'll pay for making me miss the movie with Jewels," she heard Kai ask the other guy. That made her felt slightly better, at least Kai had wanted to go to the movies with her after all.  
  
"The criminal group that you had me follow...well, they seemed more active than usual. A number of them went to this beyblading school in Hong Kong that had a fairly good reputation a few days ago. I sent some people to find out what they're up to. They should be back soon," the helium voiced boy reported.  
  
Jewels heard Kai inhale sharply. "Are you sure about this?"  
  
"Yes, very sure," the boy replied. Suddenly, Jewels heard a new sound, the music from a pager. After a while, she heard the boy say, "It seems like my spies are back. They said they would meet us at you-know-where and give you all the details."  
  
Jewels quickly moved and hid behind a huge garbage bin and watched Kai and the boy leave. She didn't follow them. The shock of Kai sending people to follow criminals kept her there. What else did he do that she didn't know about? She would bet her life that there was a ton more that she didn't know about.  
  
When she got home, she was still thinking about what happened and what she heard in the junk yard.  
  
"Hey sis, is there something wrong?" Carrie asked, looking up at her from her ice cream.  
  
"Nothing," Jewels denied. "What kind of ice cream is that?'  
  
"Don't even try to avoid the question. Even though you're friends with Kai, it can't be good when you look like that sourpuss," Carrie chuckled.  
  
Jewels remarked, "You should be a psychiatrist someday. It's nothing really. Kai just blew me off again that's all."  
  
"Again?" Carrie said, outraged, her green eyes flashing dangerously. "This is like the sixth time he did it! Yell at him. I don't care what you do, but he has to be brought back to his senses, or I'll do it myself."  
  
"I'm taking care of it," Jewels assured her with a smile.  
  
"You better be. I won't let Kai trample on you like that," her twin stated indignantly.  
  
It was her turn to chuckle. "It's just that I'm usually the one who protects you, not the other way around," she explained hastily when Carrie arched an eyebrow at her.  
  
"That decision is about to change drastically if you don't stop grinning about it now," her sister told her. "But really, does he expect you to be around forever when he blew you off so many times? If it was me, I would slam his head against the wall until his head cracks when I get my hands on him." Then a wicked grin came onto her face. "I can always do it as a favor for you if you like."  
  
Jewels laughed and hugged her. Carrie always made things sound simpler than they actually were, but she was grateful all the same.  
  
"Now, you're scaring me. Jewels, showing enough emotion to hug her twin sister. This will be the biggest news of the year," Carrie commented.  
  
"Carrie, just because I hang out with Hiwatari, doesn't mean that I forget to show some human emotion like he does," Jewels told her.  
  
"Tell me all about how you dismantled him tomorrow, all right? I expect extreme violence from you," Carrie said, pretending to be grave. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my ice cream."  
  
Jewels' smile stayed on her face as she went into her room. It was nice to know that she had someone like Carrie by her side when she couldn't count on Kai.  
  
She didn't hear from Kai again until Saturday night.  
  
"Jewels, I'm really sorry about Friday," Kai's voice said from the other end.  
  
"Kai, you really need to stop doing it," she told him quietly.  
  
Thinking that she meant dumping her on outings, he said, "Yeah, let's go and watch that movie tomorrow."  
  
"I'm not talking about the movie or the other times that you had an 'emergency'," she said seriously. "I'm saying how you are having criminals followed and everything."  
  
"You followed me, didn't you?" he demanded, his voice as cold as winter.  
  
"That's not the point," she said desperately, "The point is that you can get hurt or even killed if they find out about what you're doing. You have to stop."  
  
He stayed silent for a minute, deep in thought, before saying, "This is none of your business, Jewels. I have to do this, for my team."  
  
"It is my business when my best friend is in danger," she stated simply. "Let me be a part of it too."  
  
"No!!" Kai refused vehemently. "I won't let you put yourself in danger like that."  
  
Jewels was taken aback by how fierce he sounded, but she wasn't about to back down. "Oh, so now it's okay to put yourself in danger, but not me?"  
  
She heard him sighing in frustration. "Look, you're a –"  
  
"If you are going to say that I'm a girl, I'm going to come to your house and kick your ass," she threatened.  
  
He continued as if she hadn't said anything, "You are a girl. You know what? We shouldn't see each other at all. Those people will come for you if they know that we're close."  
  
"Hiwatari –" she began.  
  
"Goodbye," he said before hanging up.  
  
Jewels stared at the phone, stunned. The nerve of him! He had the nerve to keep _her_, Jewels Satsuki out of his plans because she was a _girl_? She wanted to throw the phone out the window at that moment, but changed her mind. As much fun as it will be imagining that it would fly all the way to Kai's house and hit him on the head, it's not worth to have to buy a new phone.  
  
Burying her face in a pillow, she screamed into it in anger. Carrie heard it outside and decided to check on her sister. "What's gotten into you?"  
  
"THE NERVES OF MEN!" Jewels bellowed.  
  
Carrie winced, and asked, "What's he done now?"  
  
"He.......AH! He told me that we shouldn't see each other anymore because he's afraid that some freak will attack me or something! It's not like I can't take care of myself! The nerves of that stupid guy! Putting himself in danger, but he wouldn't let me do the same, as if it's his decision," Jewels complained. Then she bolted up. Why should she let Hiwatari control her? It's not his choice to make in the first place.  
  
"Ha, I just thought of the perfect plan!" she exclaimed, standing up to leave. "Thanks for inspiring me!"  
  
Carrie stared after her in confusion, not sure what to think. She didn't even get a word of what Jewels had just told her.  
  
Jewels just turned the corner to Kai's house when she saw him with his long scarf walking down the street. She was tempted to sneak up on him to teach him a lesson, but she was more curious about this whole thing that he was involved in.  
  
He was thinking about the news that he had just received to pay much attention to anything else. Until...CRACK! He looked back and saw Jewels behind him.  
  
"What do you think you're doing? I just told you less than an hour ago to stay away," Kai growled in annoyance.  
  
"Did you really expect me to listen?" she asked, walking towards him. Staring at him straight in the eye, she told him, "You know that I can handle anything. At least, better then Helium Boy, I'd say."  
  
Kai smirked at the nickname that she gave one of his minions. Then it faded as he looked at her determined face. "Stubborn woman," he muttered under his breath.  
  
"Arrogant man," she bit back, still matching him stare for stare.  
  
"Come with me and I'll tell you why I'm doing this," he gave in finally, turning away to go.  
  
"Took you long enough," she remarked. She followed him to the junkyard that he met that boy on the previous day.  
  
They sat together on the top of a dark blue car. "You heard about how Biovolt and Dr. Zagart were after our bit-beasts, right?" Kai asked.  
  
"Yeah, you and the rest of your team told me about it," she answered.  
  
"Well, I thought it was time that we get some warning before hand and not just blindly walking into a trap. So I gathered up some urchins on the street to gather information, and in exchange I give them a place to live in, food, and stuff like that. Recently, I just got wind of how another group of criminals is going to form an allegiance with a team to try to steal our bit beasts. That's why I have been so busy lately," he explained. "I want to stop them."  
  
"You could've just told me about it, you didn't have to be so secretive," she said, gazing at the alley intently. There seem to be a person there, but she wasn't entirely sure that it wasn't just a hallucination.  
  
"Kai, is it just me, or is there a person in the alley," she asked in a soft voice.  
  
"Uh oh, I don't think so. I see him too," he said, confirming her suspicions.  
  
Suddenly, she heard a gun firing, and Kai pulled her down onto the ground, shielding her with his body. Five people in black came in from the gate.  
  
"Get them!" the one in the middle commanded. The four guys around him charged.  
  
"Get out of here while you can," Kai told her, standing up.  
  
"No way, I'm not leaving you here," she said, grabbing a long metal pole from the ground. She was locked in a furious battle with them, whirling the pole, she knocked one of them unconscious. Looking back, she saw that the leader had a gun in his hand and was pointing it at Kai's back. She saw him pull the trigger clearly, as if everything went slow motioned.  
  
Dropping the pole, Jewels pushed Kai out of the way. The bullet grazed her arm and hit a vacuum.  
  
Kai grabbed Jewels arm and started running here and there, avoiding the bullets. "Climb!" he barked, pushing her into the barbed wire fence.  
  
"You are coming with me," she said firmly.  
  
He was too anxious for her safety to argue with her. In the middle, a bullet managed to find a way into his arm. He groaned in pain. "GO ON! I'm fine," he insisted.  
  
Jewels nodded desperately, and continued her climb. At the top, she only hesitated a moment before jumping to the other side. Kai landed beside her only a few seconds later. They ran all the way to the park before stopping.  
  
"Do you think we've lost them?" Jewels gasped.  
  
"Hopefully," he answered, clenching his arm. Noticing that blood was still coming out rapidly, Jewels took his arm gently.  
  
"What are you doing?" Kai growled.  
  
"You're hurt, I'm looking at the wound," she replied. She couldn't help but grimace when she saw how deep the wound was.  
  
"Use my scarf," he said, taking it off with one hand.  
  
She wrapped it up carefully around his wound and tied it. "Go home, Jewels. It was too dangerous. You could've been killed," he said matter-of-factly. "I don't want to put you in such jeopardy again."  
  
"Excuse me?" she demanded. "I was the one who saved your ass back there!"  
  
"You shouldn't have! As Voltaire said, 'The worst thing is failure and the one that comes after it is letting a woman help you.'"  
  
She snorted. "What a bunch of bullshit. If it wasn't for a women, no, a _girl_, you would be dead!"  
  
He glared at her. "Just go and leave me alone! I don't...I don't want to be in your debt even more."  
  
"You know I care nothing about debts," she hissed.  
  
"LEAVE," Kai barked. "I don't want you to be near me again, ever!"  
  
Jewels looked at him, her eyes full of anger and hurt. "Fine, just don't come running back to me when you need me."  
  
End of Flashback

* * *

  
Mr. Satsuki went into Jewels' room. He had just received a call from her friend about how she, Carrie and their friend, Hilary, had been captured by some mysterious people.  
  
He stared at the photos on her wall dejectedly. She was with Carrie and her other friends, smiling happily. Sighing, he wondered why he and his wife didn't get along with her like her friends did. They always fight over the smallest things, it was crazy!  
  
Looking at one particular picture, he strained to remember who the boy with her was. Right, his name was Kai. They looked like they would have made a great couple someday. Too bad they weren't talking to each other anymore.  
  
He had never got why Kai had stopped coming over. Every time he tried to talk to her about it, he would get a bored, "Dad, it's none of your business," if she was in a good mood, or a snappy, "Butt out of my life," if she was in a bad mood.  
  
He hoped that she and Carrie would be safe soon and maybe, maybe someday she and Kai will be together.

* * *

This was long! Sorry, it took me a while, but I had a block on this chapter. I wrote a lot today, seeing that I only had five pages yesterday. If anyone, anyone at all, have an idea how the guys are going to rescue the girls, please send in your ideas, because I'm have no clue how to get them out of this mess!  
  
I decided to do a poll at the end of every chappie. I found that I like doing them a lot.  
  
Poll: How much do you like the Ray/Zarine pairing?  
  
I LOVE it! They're just so cute together. I like it, but Ray can find someone better. It's okay. I don't like it at all. I HATE it, this pairing makes me sick. (I really hope none of you will choose this...but it's your opinion.) 


	21. Chapter 20: Identity Revealed!

Thanks ssssssoooo much for the reviews!  
  
Results for the poll: Most people love the Zarine/Ray pairing!! Yay!!!  
  
Yeah, from the title of the chapter, you can guess that I've finally revealed who the 'Master' person is!! It was going to be longer, but I decided that it was a good place to stop and besides, I really don't feel like writing anymore for today.

* * *

Chapter Twenty – Identity Revealed!  
  
Ray pushed the strands of wet hair out of Zarine's hot face. Zarine cling onto him as another roll of thunder rumbled. She closed her eyes and saw the cruel smirks on the faces of her attackers. They reminded her so much of the Dark Force. Her boyfriend before Ray had enjoyed hurting her like that.  
  
"Ray, don't let them hurt me," she begged, plainly terrified.  
  
"I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, I promise," Ray said. "Come on, let's get out of the rain."  
  
He picked her light form up easily, and picked his way through the woods carefully in the dark. He would have offered her his jacket, but he had left without one since he was too anxious to find her.  
  
"I'm so cold," she whimpered, shivering violently. She tried to press herself closer to his body to get warmer.  
  
"I'll get you to somewhere nice and warm really soon," he said, trying to calm her. It broke his heart to see her in her feverish state, and not being able to do anything.  
  
Once he was outside of the forest, he wondered where he should go. Kai's mansion was out of the question. It was too far away and Zarine needed to get dry real fast. Then he thought of Tyson's dojo, it was only a five minute walk away. Rain pounded on their bodies, soaking them even more. By the time he was in front of Tyson's home, Ray felt like he had been drenched in a pool of water for half the day.  
  
"HIYA!" Grandpa's yell echoed through the dojo as he practiced his forms.  
  
"Grandpa!" Ray called. "Where are you?"  
  
The white haired man opened the door of the practice room and spotted Ray, who had just past the room.  
  
"Hey, homeboy. So what's going on here? Where's Tyson?" he asked.  
  
Ray turned back and said hurriedly, "Never mind that now. Zarine has a high fever."  
  
"Looks like she was beaten up real bad too," Grandpa remarked, looking at the figure in his arms. "Take her to Tyson's room while I call a doctor."  
  
The black haired boy glanced at his girlfriend in surprise, and the bruises on her arms and legs got his attention immediately.  
  
He inhaled sharply. "Oh God, Zarine, what did they do to you?" A new feeling rose up inside his heart. Anger. He felt angry that people had hurt Zarine so badly, and had probably enjoyed it. The other girls better not be hurt!  
  
"They hit me over and over again," she mumbled. "At one point, they slammed my head against a tree. They also injected something in me. I don't know what it was, but it made me feel weak all over."  
  
Ray laid her on Tyson's bed, and covered her up with a blanket. "A doctor is coming, so everything is going to be all right," he assured her.  
  
Tyson, Kai, Kenny and Max had run all the way to the amusement park, hoping that the girls would be all right. Kenny dropped to his knees, panting. "Guys, can we stop for a second?"  
  
Tyson couldn't believe what he had just heard from Chief. "Kenny, we don't have time! They could be hurt, or tortured for all we know. I mean, look at what happened to Zarine!"  
  
"Maybe we should walk for a couple of minutes," Max said uncertainly, looking at Kai for his opinion.  
  
"You can slow down if you want, but I'm not. Hilary...Hilary could be hurt, alone. Who knows what they've done to her?" Tyson said, and started running again.  
  
"Tyson!" Max called after him. However, his friend ignored him and just kept on running.  
  
Poking around various tents and rides, he couldn't find any sign of a human being, let alone a criminal group. Finally, he reached the Candyland house, and found a trap door in the bedroom. He figured that the trapdoor will lead them to the girls, so he decided to get the others and go together. Unfortunately, when he found them, he saw that there were several other guys in black cloaks, and one of them had a rifle.  
  
"Put your hands above your heads, intruders!" the guy with the gun ordered.  
  
Max, Kenny, and Kai had no choice but to obey. Tyson was thinking, [Uh oh, now we're in trouble.]  
  
'Use your beyblade,' Dragoon advised.  
  
'Oh ya,' Tyson threw the thought back sheepishly. 'I should've thought of that.'  
  
He put his blade onto his launcher, took careful aim and just let it rip! Dragoon flew into the guy's hand, and made a huge gash in it, causing him to drop the rifle in pain.  
  
Tyson smirked in satisfaction as he watched the others trying to figure out what happened. Kai took advantage of their diverted attention and dove for the rifle on the ground. 

"Hands up in the air now!" Kai commanded.

The cloaked figures raised their arms slowly. "Max, find me some rope to tie them up," he said.

Five minutes later, Max came back with a ball of string that he found in the Candyland house. "Here," he said, handing it to Kai.  
  
The heroes tied them up and shoved each of them, except for one, into a different area.

"Where do you have the girls?" Tyson demanded. "Lead us to them."

The guy had no choice but to lead them down the tunnel and into their hideout.

There were guards around the place, but Kai, Tyson, and Max handled them easily enough. It didn't take long to knock them all out and bound them together.

They walked along the hallway until they heard voices. Pressing flat against the wall, Kenny peered into the room, taking in every detail.

"So Chief, who are in the room?" Kai questioned.

"I saw Jewels, and this person on a chair. It's just one big room with candles. No one is in here except for the two of them," Kenny told him.

"Okay, here's the plan," Kai said to Max, Tyson, and Kenny. "I'll go and get Jewels, you three go and look for Hilary and Carrie. When you find them, get out of here. Don't worry about me."

"Kai, what if you're caught?" Max asked.

"I won't be. Take the rifle too. There're probably a lot of people guarding Carrie and Hilary," he said, handing the rifle to Tyson.

"All right," Tyson said doubtfully. "We'll see you when we get out of here."  
  
"Carrie! Wake up. Carrie, please, just say something," Hilary pleaded, looking at her red haired friend on the floor.  
  
Carrie groaned, and stirred a little. "Huh?" she said, confused, looking around her cell.  
  
"I'm here," Hilary said.  
  
Carrie gazed toward the sound of Hilary's voice, and finally saw her friend looking at her through the metal bars separating their cells. "Hil, how come, how come you're here?"  
  
"It's a long story," the brunette sighed. She told Carrie all about how she and Jewels were captured.  
  
"I guess we're stuck here until someone finds out where we are. If those creeps don't kill us off first, that is," Carrie said hopelessly.  
  
"They didn't get Zarine, but they had people beat her up. I hope she's all right. I think the guys are looking for us right this minute," Hilary said.  
  
"How can you be so bright about it?" Carrie demanded. "I mean, look at us! We're stuck in a cell. This guy was practically torturing me earlier." Then she snorted, "Because apparently, I was impolite to the leader to this little group or underground organization or whatever you want to call it."  
  
"Yeah, I figured that you were probably pummeled by someone. Just think logically for a moment. Say Zarine is unconscious somewhere, if Ray doesn't see her at home, he'll probably tear the whole town apart with his bare hands to find her. When he does, Zarine will tell him about how Jewels and I were captured, and the guys would come and get us," Hilary analyzed.  
  
The red head remarked, "You sounded so much like Kenny there, you know?"  
  
Hilary ignored that comment and asked, "Where are you hurt?"  
  
"Everywhere," replied Carrie. "Don't worry, I'll live. I wonder how Jewels is doing though."  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
"So you are the one that ordered your goons to shoot at Kai and me at the junk yard a year ago. Just tell me what you want!" Jewels demanded, "And who you really are, of course." She was giving him a Kai death glare.  
  
"Great job," 'Master' complimented. "You're here to pay for what you did that day. You weren't supposed to save Kai. He was supposed to die that day! He was interfering with my plans. If he...if he..." the boy was in such a rage that he couldn't stand to state Kai's crime. "If everything went the way it was supposed to, then I'd be a billionaire by now!"  
  
"Well, things don't always go the way we want it to," she stated calmly. "If I had it my way...then..." Abruptly, she stopped. She was just about to say, 'If I had it my way, then Kai and I would be together." Instead, she said, "I wouldn't be stuck here, Carrie would be on her date, Zarine would be home, safe and sound, and same with Hilary!"  
  
"Whatever," he muttered. "You're going to pay for getting into the way of my plan to kill Kai."  
  
"Before you do any killing here, answer this question," a masculine voice said. "Who the hell are you?"  
  
Jewels and the teen on his throne looked toward the doorway. Kai was standing there. Jewels couldn't believe her eyes. Kai??? How did he get there? How did he find her? The guy was also staring at Kai with goggled eyes. How the hell did he find where his hideout was?  
  
"Well?" he demanded, walking over to the center of the room by Jewels. "Are you going to tell me, or are you going to just stare at me all day?"  
  
The red haired girl just couldn't believe it, so she reached out a hand to tug on Kai's shirt to make sure that it wasn't an illusion.  
  
"Hm?" he asked, his eyes softening at the sight of her. "What is it?"  
  
"Nothing," she answered, blushing, looking down. "Just making sure that you are real."  
  
"GUARDS!" 'Master' shouted.  
  
"It's no use," Kai told him, smirking.  
  
However, 'Master continued roaring, "GUARDS, COME AT ONCE, OR YOU'LL ALL BE PUNISHED."  
  
Jewels raised an eyebrow at his outbursts. Either that guy needed a course in anger management very badly, or the loss of money had made him lose his marbles.  
  
"I already said, 'It's no use.' My team knocked all of them out, so don't waste your breath," Kai told him once again, in a louder voice.  
  
"GUARDS!!" 'Master' hollered once more before stopping his yells. He sent Kai a look of the deepest loathing.  
  
Jewels muttered, "I think we just got another name on the list of people from Loonyville."  
  
"We haven't found out his name yet, remember?" Kai reminded her. "We still have to do that before we can officially name him one of the residents." He turned to 'Master', and barked, "Reveal your identity or I'll do it myself."  
  
"Fine," the mysterious guy said, pretending to be sulky. He had the prefect idea to turn the tables on Kai. Stepping down from his throne, he stepped into the light.  
  
Jewels gasped. It was..............................Gavin! (Ha, congrats to Queen of Fantasy and 0bs3ssi0n who guessed correctly!)  
  
"Surprised to see me?" he asked.  
  
Kai regained his composure and responded, "Yeah, considering that you're one of the last people I expected to see."  
  
Gavin slid his hand under his coat where he had a gun. Suddenly, he grabbed Jewels, and pointed the gun to her head.  
  
Kai clenched his fists as he gazed at the guy who held Jewels captive.  
  
"Don't move, Hiwatari, or she dies," he warned.  
  
Jewels couldn't help but feel scared when she felt the gun at the side of her head. "Kai," she said quietly, "Just get away from here."  
  
Kai felt helpless. He couldn't do anything. If he did, then....then......Jewels will be killed. He couldn't let that happen, no matter what.  
  
"Master!" a black cloaked guy cried, running to Gavin to kneel in front of him. "Please forgive me."  
  
"Get on your feet and tie Hiwatari up," Gavin commanded.  
  
"Yes, sir," the servant said. He quickly got some rope and tied Kai's hands and feet.  
  
"Not so tough now, are you?" Gavin smirked at Kai on the ground, giving him a hard kick in the stomach.  
  
The blue haired boy groaned, and spat out some blood.  
  
"Kai!" Jewels said. She wiggled out of Gavin's grasp to drop down beside him, and looked at him with tears in her eyes. This wouldn't have happened if she hadn't been so hotheaded and went to the forest with Zarine and Hilary.  
  
"Let Jewels go! You got me now!" he said to Gavin angrily. "What more do you want?"  
  
"I want the two of you dead!" he told Kai with a maniacal gleam in his eyes.  
  
Max, Tyson, and Kenny were searching along the corridor for the girls, calling out their names, "Carrie? Hilary?"  
  
"Let's try this one," Kenny suggested, pointing to the passage on the left.  
  
"I guess it can't hurt," Tyson said.  
  
"Hilary? Jewels? Carrie?" they called.  
  
Carrie and Hilary heard their call and caught their breath. They were going to be rescued! "Intruders!" they heard someone yelled.  
  
"Put a cork in it," they heard Tyson say. There was a low groan and a thud as Tyson knocked him out with the rifle.  
  
"Tyson!" Hilary cried in joy, going to stand by the wooden door.  
  
"Hil?" His muffled voice said on the other side.  
  
"I'm in this room," she told him, knocking on the door. "Carrie's in the one on the right."  
  
Kenny searched the pockets of the guy they just knocked out. "Here, I got the keys!" he said, waving them around. Max took them, and stuck the keys in the lock, trying to get them to open.  
  
After a few minutes, they got Hilary's cell door opened.  
  
"Hilary!" Tyson exclaimed, giving her a hug. "Did they hurt you?"  
  
"Nah, just get Carrie out," she said impatiently. Normally, she would be surprised by such a move from Tyson, but this situation was different. There was no time for that.  
  
"Hurry it up!" Carrie complained as she waited inside.  
  
"Hold your horses!" Max grunted, trying to unlock it. The key fits, but it was extremely hard to turn. Giving it an extra hard turn, the lock finally yielded and popped open.  
  
"Took you long enough," she said as she walked out.  
  
"It was hard to open," the blonde haired boy protested.  
  
"Where's Jewels?" the brunette asked.  
  
Tyson replied. "Kai's getting her right now. Let's go."  
  
"What about Kai and Jewels??" Carrie demanded. "We can't just leave them here!"  
  
"Kai's orders. He said that we are going after we got you two," Kenny told her. "They can probably handle that kid alone after we knocked everyone out."  
  
Tyson was already at the end of the hall. "Yoohoo! Let's go already! We don't want to get caught!"  
  
Carrie reluctantly followed the others. She hoped that Kai and Jewels were going to be okay.

* * *

I'm sorry if this was bad. I'm getting bored with this whole problem. Next chappie will be better since it'll be more exciting.

This chappie's poll: Should Leo and Shea get together?  
  
1)Ya, I mean, they're both evil, so why not?  
  
2)No way! Are you kidding?? They would make a horrible couple  
  
3)I dunno.


	22. Chapter 21: We Go Together, We Stay Toge...

Thank you very much to people who sent me ideas! It really inspired me to write the last chapter and this chapter.

Results for the poll: Most people said yes, though a few said, 'I dunno.' I've already decided whether they were going to be together before this, but I just wanted your opinion about the pairing.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-One – We Go Together, We Stay Together

"Jewels," Kai called out to the red haired girl on the other side of the room. "Jewels," he repeated.

Jewels groaned and opened her eyes. "What?" She glanced over to Kai and saw that he was still tied. She walked over to him, and untied the strings that bound his hands and feet.

"You're bleeding," they said at the same time. Kai reached out his hand to touch the bleeding wound on the side of her head. She winced at his touch, and pulled away.

"Don't touch it," she snapped. Then she mumbled, "Sorry, it just hurts when you do. Gimme your scarf, your arm is bleeding."

He handed her his white (and beautiful) scarf to her without a word. She tried to ignore the fact that he was staring at her face as she wrapped the scarf around his wound to stop it from bleeding.

Kai studied the face that was so familiar and yet so strange to him. A year ago, she had a........what's the word...flinty expression. She was like steel. Not anymore though. Her face was softened and not as closed to the world as before. He wasn't sure if he liked it, but he had a feeling that he will.

"There," she announced, letting go of his arm. "Let's find a way to get out of here."

"Yeah," he agreed. Silently, he berated himself, [Stop thinking about her and concentrate on what's important!]

They tried to open the only door, but it was stubborn and wouldn't move an inch even though they had combined their strength.

"Stop trying, it's futile," Gavin's voice crackled on the speaker somewhere in the room.

"Why are you doing this?" Kai demanded.

"I already told you that you are going to pay for getting into my way a year ago," Gavin answered impatiently.

"He said that you were supposed to die the day that we were attacked," Jewels told Kai.

"Why? Why did you want to kill me?" Kai questioned.

"I hate the Bladebreakers, so I worked with this group of criminals who wanted to steal your bit-beasts. They promised me billions of dollars if they succeed. It was all going smoothly until you came along. I had to get you out of the picture," Gavin explained angrily. "Billions of dollars!!!! You made me loose so much money!"

"I swore to protect my bit-beast and same with the rest of my team," Kai told him coldly.

"I don't care about your oath! I only care about the money that I've lost when your team defeated the Dark Force!" Gavin yelled, losing control of his temper once more.

Kai thought about it for a moment and then he understood everything. The Dark Force wanted their bit-beast and Gavin found out about it and offered his help in exchange for money. However, his group was doing everything to thwart Gavin's plan so Gavin wanted to get him out of the way. He didn't die because Jewels saved him. His team beat the Dark Force and that meant that Gavin was getting no money. Gavin was enraged by the loss, so he wanted to get revenge on the two of them for it.

"It doesn't matter now, since you are meeting your death in fifteen minutes," Gavin said, laughing insanely.

"The building will be exploded in fifteen minutes, please evacuate," a cool female voice announced.

Jewels said, "Oh great, now how are we supposed to get out of this?"

While she was saying that, Kai was already ramming against the door, attempting to burst through.

"Ah! I can't do it!" he growled in frustration.

'I'll help you,' Dranzer said.

Kai didn't waste time asking question, and launched his blade right away. Dranzer used his power to break through the wall. Kai used his body to shield Jewels from the falling rocks. Jewels could feel herself blushing for the second time that day. She felt strangely safe in his arms. Pushing the thoughts away, she looked up to see the glowing Dranzer looking at the both of them in a knowing way.

'That's all I can do. Get out of here quickly,' Dranzer sent the thought to the both of them.

Jewels looked at the phoenix in wonder. [Dranzer can talk?] she thought.

"Come on!" Kai said, grabbing her arm. He pulled her along in a dead run through the maze of hallways, trying to find their way out of there.

"Twelve minutes and twenty-four seconds until the explosion, please evacuate the building at once," the voice announced from somewhere again.

Suddenly there was a loud BOOM! Kai and Jewels were thrown to one side.

"That voice said that there were still twelve minutes!" Jewels said indignantly. "What kind of sick joke is this?"

"I guess Gavin left some other bombs around," Kai grunted with a look of great pain in his eyes. His leg was stuck and he couldn't get it out.

Jewels looked at him and found that rocks and pieces of the ceiling had fallen.....onto Kai's leg. She removed the rumble carefully, not touching his leg for fear that it will hurt him.

"I think my leg is broken," he said. Gingerly, he tried to move his leg, but all he accomplished was hurting himself.

"Go without me," he told Jewels. "You can still get out of here. I'll just slow you down."

"No, I'm not going anywhere without you," she said firmly.

He sighed, "Jewels, just go. I don't...I don't want to shout at you like I did the last time I tried to get you to leave me."

"I don't care what you do. We're going to get out together. You got it? Together!" she said fiercely.

"Eight minutes until explosion, please evacuate the building immediately," the voice said again.

"Stop wasting time!" Kai barked. He glared at her but it didn't have the desired effect because he was wincing in pain at the same time.

"Stop wasting your breath. We go together, or we stay together, it's as simple as that," Jewels told him.

He scowled at her, but nodded in defeat. She put his arm around her neck and helped him up. Leaning heavily on her, he managed to stand, barely.

"Why wouldn't you leave me?" he questioned, panting heavily.

"You're my friend," she answered simply. Wandering around, she wondered if they would get out of there at all.

"Three minutes until explosion, please evacuate the building immediately," said the recording.

"Look, Jewels, there is the 'throne' room," Kai said weakly.

"We must be close," Jewels said, breathing heavily. Kai was no feather weight after all.

They made their way through the tunnel as quick as they could, when they were at the trap door, they heard the announcement faintly, "One minute until explosion, please evacuate immediately."

"We just have to get up the stairs," Jewels said encouragingly. "We'll get out of here."

Opening the trapdoor, they poked their heads out. "Let me go. I'll run," Kai said.

"You'll ruin your leg," she said.

"I don't care, just do it!" he growled.

BOOM! They heard the explosion, and ran even faster over the shaking ground.

Kai tackled Jewels onto the ground as the whole Candyland house erupted like a volcano. They waited until silence fell in the amusement park once more.

"We made it out," the red head laughed weakly. Rolling onto her back, she hugged Kai.

"Yeah," he said in relieve. He smiled happily, looking into her beautiful violet eyes. "We made it."

He lowered his head and kissed her gently. Jewels froze in shock for a moment before kissing him back. After a minute, Kai broke it off. Without hesitation, she moved in to kiss him, her hands caressing his back. Kai didn't complain, he ran his tongue over her bottom lip and she let him have access into her mouth willingly. Tasting the sweetness of her mouth, he felt like he couldn't get enough of her.

After five minutes, they stopped and realized what they were doing. "What the heck just happened?" Jewels asked in confusion.

"I don't have the faintest idea," he replied. "Let's just get out of here. I'll call Thomas to come and get us." He took out his cell phone and called his butler. Normally, he wouldn't have bothered, but he was really in no condition to walk anywhere.

"Master Kai, you're hurt!" Thomas said in concern when he saw Kai sitting on the ground.

"Are the others okay?" Kai demanded, ignoring his butler's comment.

"Yes, they're currently at Tyson's dojo. Ray and Zarine are there too," the elderly man answered.

"Take us there," Kai ordered.

"But..." protested Thomas.

"Just do it!" Kai snapped.

Thomas drove the limo the Tyson's. Leaning once again on Jewels, they walked into Tyson's room to find the others.

"Kai! Jewels!" Carrie exclaimed, pulling Jewels into a hug. "I thought you were never going to come!"

"I'm so glad to see that you're okay," Zarine said with a smile. Then she coughed, a ripping sound in her throat.

Ray looked at her with worry in his eyes. She noticed and said, "I'll be fine! The doctor said so!"

"So what took you so long?" Tyson asked.

"You better save the questions for later," Grandpa said. "Kai and Jewels need to have medical attention. Luckily the doc is still here."

It was really crowded in Tyson's room, plus there was the fact that his room was a mess so they moved into the practice room, leaving Zarine and Ray.

"You can go too, you know," Zarine said to Ray.

"I'm staying with you until you go to sleep. You need it, young lady," Ray told her sternly.

"Who are you to speak to me like that?" she demanded. "You're my boyfriend, not my father!" Then she grinned, "If you're staying until I fall asleep, then I'll never sleep. I want you to stay with me forever."

Ray attempted to scowl at her, but failed miserably. She was too cute to get mad at. "Fine, I'll go then."

"Bye!" she said brightly, as if she couldn't wait until he leaves.

When Ray went into the practice room, the doctor was splintering Kai's leg with the others watching.

"You'll have to get a cast for your leg," the doctor told Kai, "And keep it for about two months."

He nodded with a grimace. Two months with a cast was not his idea of fun.

After, she tended to the cuts and bruises on Kai and Jewels' bodies. "They're not too bad, just rest a few days at home," she told them.

"Thanks, doc," Grandpa said warmly, shaking her hand.

The doctor turned to the rest of them and advised, "I suggest you go home and get some sleep. You all look really tired."

"Ray, go get Zarine, we're going home," Kai said. "Carrie, jewels, I'll give you a ride to your house."

Carrie couldn't wait to be back home, she ran out of the car without saying good bye or thank you to her friends. Jewels was right behind her, but she did remember to thank Kai for the ride.

"Mom! Dad!" Carrie yelled.

"Carrie!" Mrs. Satsuki said with tears in her eyes. "I thought I would never see you or Jewels again."

Jewels stood awkwardly like an outsider while her parents were busy hugging her twin. She didn't have the kind of relationship with her parents like Carrie did.

"Good to see you," her dad said, ruffling her hair like he did when she was little.

"Yeah," she agreed, smiling. And when she looked at her parents, she understood something. Even though her bond with her parents was so different from Carrie's, it didn't mean that her parents didn't love her or that she didn't care about her parents. They do love each other, but they just have a different way of showing it.

* * *

It was short, but I like it! No, I love it! I hope you liked the part where Kai and Jewels made out on the spur of the moment! Lol, they were supposed to only kiss, but I thought, why not make out? Haha, I better get a lotz of reviews for this chapter!

Poll:

Do you think I should write a short fic about Kai and Jewels' relationship before the Bladebreakers met Zarine? It'll basically be about how Kai had people followed and stuff. They wouldn't be paired up because it's in the past, they'll just be best friends.

Yes. That's one of the most brilliant ideas ever!

No. The fic will be very stupid.


	23. Chapter 22: Recovery is Not Fun!

Hiya, chumps! About the fic that I mentioned in the last chapter, I'm not promising _anything_. I haven't decided yet, but if I do, it'll be short, maybe like 10-15 chapters. My main priority is to finish this story and the next one. If I don't come up with any good ideas for new stories then I'll write it.

Wreckless Spirit: Yeah, that story's line is going to carry on into the next story too.

Demolition Girl: Read and find out what evil plans I have. As for Mariam, I've already said she's going to appear after Kai and Jewels escape. I'm positive that she's going to appear in the next chapter, but then again, nothing goes according to plan sometimes...

Eden: I don't think I have mix up with my tenses, where did you notice that? I also asked 0bs3ssi0n about it and she said she never noticed it....so I'd really appreciate it if you give me an example or something.

John: Interesting idea.............I'll try to think of how it can fit into the story.

Kais-true-love: He didn't get tortured, all he got was a cut on the arm. Well, and a broken leg from the rubble.

Minijkitty: I honestly don't know how I do it. Lol.

Giro Wolf: Lol, that was an awkward place to make out, but it was the perfect time! I can't think of _everything._ Even though I think that's my job...

The-unknown-freak: It's going to be a fic, not just a chapter if it ever happens. I know what you mean. I love writing the story so don't worry, I'll try to update as soon as possible.

Clio: Why does everyone think that I'm going to forget about this fic if I write the Kai/Jewels one??? :S

Diamond Core: Inspire someone, now that's a bit.....overdoing it. I mean, it's not an inspirational story or anything. Yeah, you get my drift? I'm just confused this summer.

Crimson Shadow: I didn't write them on the same day. I posted the last chapter the day after I posted Chapter twenty-one. I didn't have that much trouble with it, unlike this chapter. Frustrated sigh

Launcher Strike525: There are tons of fics with Kai making out with a girl. I know what you mean though. I suppose he couldn't help himself when he looked into Jewels' eyes.

Puppalupp2008: I can't believe how many reviews I have either. It's like AMAZING! Lol.

a-A-a: Oh, well, they were only supposed to get one kiss, but instead, they got several. How good of a deal is that?!

0bs3ssi0n: Dirty Dancing was so good! When the parents saw them dancing, the expressions on their parent's face were sssooo funny! I laughed whenever the camera turned to them.

Sorry if I didn't reply to your review, but honestly, what can I say to someone that said, I vote for #2? Thanks for all your reviews though! You guys are the best! No, I mean THE best.

Chapter Twenty-Two – No One Said That Recovery was Fun

"WHAT?! What do you mean I'm _confined_ in bed?!" Zarine yelled on Thursday. "I wasn't yesterday, so why today?"

"Sorry, but it was Master Kai's orders," said Chief Louie answered.

"What am I supposed to do all day?" she demanded.

"Sleep," he replied. "You need it, you still have a fever."

"I don't care about that! It's boring just to sleep all day," she pouted.

"Please, Zarine, go back to your room. If Kai sees you here when he comes back, he'll get angry at me," he pleaded.

"Fine," she huffed before stalking out of the kitchen. Muttering curses, she vowed to make sure that Kai will get an earful from her when she gets her hands on him. Confined in bed, indeed!

Halfway back to her room, she suddenly felt dizzy. Her head swam and she felt sick to her stomach. Sliding onto the floor, she sat down and decided to wait until the wave of nausea had passed before continuing.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Kai demanded, irritated, as he walked down the hall towards her with crutches. He had a new cast on his right leg and he was not happy about it.

"I was going to, but then I felt sick," she replied defensively. "Besides, how should I know that I was confined in bed before anyone had told me?"

He planted himself right in front of Zarine, and stared down at her. "Ray told you to stay in bed."

She shrugged, "He didn't say I wasn't supposed to get up."

"You should've learned your lesson after you nearly collapsed before you even got to the stairs yesterday morning!" he said sternly.

"But," she protested, "I actually made it to the kitchen this time."

He sighed, "Just go back to your room, and stay in your bed, alright? Don't get up to wander around."

Zarine scowled at his back as he limped down the hallway. "You'd think he would show me a bit of sympathy," she muttered to herself.

'You know he's right though,' Xeora told her.

'When did you get back?' she demanded. 'You shouldn't have taken so long this time!'

'Sorry,' her bit-beast apologized. 'But it's hectic here in my world. I'm the leader of my group so I need to take care of things when they get out of hand.'

'I know,' she sighed. 'I just wish you came back sooner.'

'Same here. What do you say to swimming in the lake tonight?' Xeora asked eagerly. 'We haven't visited our friends for so long.'

'Sure, I need something to look forward to!' Zarine answered, just as enthusiastic about the whole thing.

'Eh, you already have something to be excited about,' the ancient being reminded her.

'What?' the silver haired girl questioned, puzzled.

'You are looking forward to Ray's return,' Xeora answered smugly.

'Whatever,' Zarine said, sending a mental picture of her sticking her tongue out to her bit-beast.

"I'm so bored!" Zarine complained to Carrie and Jewels on the phone. "I have nothing to do."

"You can play video games," Jewels suggested. "Kai has Playstation 2 and Gamecube."

"If I ask him for it, all he'll say to me is 'Go to sleep,' or 'Go back to bed,'" Zarine grumbled. Ray was at school and Kai was still sulking in his room.

"Poke around in Ray's room then. I mean, most guys do have a game system," Carrie said, spooning some ice cream into her mouth.

"But it wouldn't be right for me to just snoop around in his room," Zarine protested.

"You're his girlfriend, he wouldn't mind," Carrie pointed out.

"I suppose," Zarine said thoughtfully, resting her head on some pillows. "I want to see you two tomorrow. I'm going to see if I can get Ray to let me come."

"Stop asking permission from him for everything," Jewels sighed. "You can't let him control your life. Well, to some degree, maybe, but don't let him have total control over you."

"Yeah. I'm going to look for a game system in Ray's room. I'll talk to you later," Zarine said hurriedly before hanging. The portable phone dropped from her hands to her lap. She didn't want to do anything to make Ray unhappy. What if he breaks up with her? That was more than she could stand.

Walking into her boyfriend's room, she noticed that there was a pile of letters on his desk. She made her way to it to see who they were from. Flipping through the letters, she found out that they were all from the same person, Salima.

She fought the temptation to read one of them. It was Ray's and if he wanted to share them with her, he would sooner or later.

She found the Gamecube after searching the cabinet under the TV, and chose to play Harry Potter and the Quiditch World Cup.

After a couple of hours of whacking Bludgers, shooting the Quaffle, goalkeeping and trying to catch the Snitch, she stopped and yawned. Feeling too lazy to get into her own bed, she settled herself in Ray's. She hoped that by the time she woke up, Ray would be back.

"Where's Zarine today?" Leo asked Ray in the hallway at lunch.

"She's sick," Ray answered curtly.

"Oh, it isn't anything too bad, is it?" Leo questioned, pretending to be concerned. Quite frankly, he didn't really care. It's his plan that he was more worried about.

"It's none of your business," the black haired boy snapped. "It's not like you care about her."

"Of course I do! She's my friend," Leo lied. Then he smirked, "Besides, she's so pretty, I wouldn't mind getting a taste of her."

Ray wasn't even aware of what he was doing. All he knew was that he was furious. He grabbed Leo by the collar and slammed him into the wall. "She's mine!" he hissed. "If you try to steal her away, I promise you'll be sorry!"

"Touchy, touchy," Leo sneered. "If you work on your temper, you might have a slight chance of keeping your girlfriend."

"Ray, what's going on?" Tyson asked when he saw them.

"Nothing," he answered before letting go of Leo and sending him a death glare

Kai was replaying the make out session with Jewels over and over again in his head. He still couldn't believe that he had _kissed_ her. She was his best friend, but surprisingly, it didn't feel weird.

'Admit it, it felt great,' Dranzer said in a bored tone.

Kai's cheeks turned crimson at that comment. 'It did NOT feel great. It was awful,' he denied.

'Whatever, you know the truth in your heart,' his bit-beast told Kai.

The blue haired boy blocked Dranzer from his mind. He didn't need thoughts like that floating around in his head. He didn't even like Jewels that way.

'Then why did you do it?' a little voice in his head taunted. "You know very well that for a fact you were the one who kissed her first.'

'It was an accident,' Kai tried to use that as an excuse.

'What about at the sleepover? You would've kissed her if Max didn't barge in. Just admit the fact that you like her.'

'I don't!' he thought, frustrated.

'Denial, the first stage,' the voice laughed before leaving.

"So was it awesome?" Carrie asked her sister eagerly.

"I don't know. Everything was a blur," Jewels answered, blushing furiously. "All I know is that one minute the bomb exploded and the next we were kissing each other."

"Do you like him now? Do you think you're going to go out?" the green eyed girl questioned.

"I don't know," Jewels replied uncertainly. "I mean, I haven't really talked to him much lately. Besides, you know that Kai doesn't want to go out anyways." She looked a little miserable when she said the last sentence.

"He might change his mind," Carrie pointed out.

Jewels smiled a little, looking dreamy. "Yeah, maybe."

When Ray arrived back at Kai's, the first thing he did was go see Zarine. That was the only thing that occupied his mind. "Hey," he said when he found her in his room, standing by his desk. He felt happy to see his girlfriend.

"What's this?" Zarine demanded, holding up a letter from Salima.

"What?" he asked, bewildered as he looked at her angry face. What did he do? Looking at his desk that was covered with letters, he understood. Zarine had read the letters without asking him!

"You...you read them? Without asking me? I thought, I thought you wouldn't do that. I trusted you," he said, feeling a little angry himself.

"If I haven't read it, how would I know that you were having another girlfriend behind my back?" she yelled, the strain making her cough.

"I don't! She's just my friend. You weren't supposed to read them anyway!" he snapped.

"Then how would you explain all the 'I love you's at the bottom of the letters?" she shouted.

Despite himself, Ray started laughing. "What's so funny?" his girlfriend asked darkly.

"Look, we meant it like friend love, so you don't have to be so jealous," Ray told her, smiling.

"Maybe you don't mean it that way," she snarled, "But what about her? She totally have a crush on you, just listen, 'Ray, you have the most beautiful black hair I've ever seen. I dream of touching it one day.' Or, 'Do you know how good you smell? What cologne do you use? I want to buy it so I can be reminded of you every time I smell it.'"

He blinked. "I thought it was just cute. I didn't think it meant that she has something for me."

"How dense are you? She had hinted it in every letter, for god's sake! But I guess guys always have to have everything spelled out for them before they're get anything," she said, rolling her eyes.

Ray closed their distance with a growl and claimed her lips in a rough and demanding kiss, wrapping his arms possessively around her. She tried to break away, but he only put his hand on the back of her neck to stop her from moving.

After breaking off the kiss, Zarine thought that if Ray hadn't been holding her up, she would have fallen onto the ground. Her knees felt weak and her whole body felt unsteady.

"Does it matter who likes me just as long as the one I want is you?" he asked, his eyes burning into her soul.

She just stared at him, speechless. Giving her head a shake, she said, "You shouldn't have kissed me. I'm still sick."

"I had to make you see that I don't care about all the other girls out there, because you're here," he told her, his eyes softening as he saw the blush creeping up on her cheeks.

"Alright," she smiled, leaning on him. "Let's do something."

"What? Kissing," he teased before stealing one from her.

"No, I want to go swimming," she responded , looking up at him with puppy eyes. "Please, can we?"

"You're not suppose to get your hair wet for a week," he told her. "Anything else?"

"Rollerblading," she answered hopefully.

"You can barely walk around," he said exasperatedly. "Choose something that you're capable of doing right now."

"Fine, then biking riding," Zarine said.

"You can't," Ray stated flatly. "I'm not going to let you get yourself killed out there."

"There's nothing to do," she complained, looking disappointed. "I want to do something that's outdoors."

"No one said that recovery was fun." Ray said, then an idea coming into his mind. "Maybe there's a way to change that. Come on!"

"Are you sure that this is going to work?" she asked dubiously after he told her that she can sit on the bar in front of him while he pedaled.

"Yes," he assured her. "I'm not going to let you fall."

She nodded, still looking doubtful, before sitting down on the bar. "Wait," Ray said, running back into the house.

He came back a few minutes later with a sweater. "Here, put this down before you sit," he said, making a cushion for her with the sweater.

"You're so sweet," she remarked with a bright smile before pulling him into a warm hug. "I'm sorry I got so jealous earlier."

"Don't worry about it. Let's go and have fun," Ray grinned.

In a few moments, they were zooming down the street. Zarine laughed with delight as the crisp wind caressed her hair, cooling her hot face. Looking at Ray, she found him smiling at her. She returned the smile before turning her gaze back to the street again. She knew then, that she had made the right choice, coming to Japan to be with the one she loved.

This isn't the end of the story. Lol, just in case some of you thinks that it is the end.

Instead of compliments, I need a bit of criticism. It's not that I don't like compliments, I love them! But I don't want my head to get too big, ya know. No flames or anything like that though.

Poll: Have to think of one.... Do you think Kenny will get together with anyone in the story?

Yes, of course. You wouldn't leave him single while the others are paired up, would you? (Considering how evil I am..........this can be a possibility.)

2) No, he's too geeky to have a girlfriend anyway.


	24. Chapter 23: Shopping

If you haven't read the last chapter, then go and read it! I updated since they escaped!

(Everyone read this and if you don't agree with my reply, then please tell me WHY)

Eden: That thing about "Muttering curses, she scowled.......," it is allowed. There are similar sentences in other books, and it is right. It's like (She was) muttering curses, she scowled. It's not present tense at all because if it was, it would be (She is) muttering curses, and she scowl. The second verb defines whether it is 'she was' or 'she is.' And how is IT in first person?? I is first person, he/she/it is third, and you is second. I learned that in school, so I know 'it' is not first person. To me, 'it' is a thing that has an unknown gender or doesn't have a gender. One more thing, some future tense is also allowed. "She would have..." is one example that can be used in a story written in past tense. I read them in books all the time. About that sentence, "Zarine vowed that she will give him an earful...," a vow is something that you intend or intended to do in the future, so it is correct. How would you write that sentence if you aren't allowed to use any future tense? I know that I should had used would, instead of will, but oh well. The sentence, 'He smiled because I was so happy,' or whatever, that was just an old dumb mistake. I think we can start a great long debate about this! Lol.

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Chapter Twenty-Three - Shopping

"Oh my gosh!" Zarine squealed after she heard Jewels' story. "Jewels and Kai kissed?????"

Carrie nodded, grinning widely. "I told you they are made for each other. According to Jewels, she didn't even know what was happening until five minutes into the make out session."

Zarine laughed. "We have to get them together! Them and Hilary and Tyson." She got a handful of beads from the bag, and started to make a fish out of them.

"If they find out though, we might be in trouble," Carrie said worriedly.

"Well, I'll just tell them that we were only giving them a bit of encouragements, and if they didn't want to be together, they didn't have to. It's not like we're going to force them or anything. We're just going to guide them in the right direction," the silver haired girl said, shrugging. "Talking of couples, so what's going on with you and Jason? Did he get mad that you missed your date?"

"No, he came by the next day with roses for me," the red head sighed dreamily at the memory. "He called me everyday and we talked for the longest time ever. What about Ray, did he get flowers for you?"

"No, he had already given me the best flower," she replied, pointing to the necklace around her neck. "Besides, we do lots of fun things together instead of just going to the movies and make out. Yesterday, he took me out bike riding, and I got to sit in front of him while he pedaled. He's so sweet to me."

"You really are in love with him, aren't you?"

"Well, duh! I mean, he's like the best thing that has happened in my life!"

Carrie was quiet for a moment, studying her friend intently. She was about to say something when Grandpa came in. "So what do my homegirls want for lunch?"

"Fried noodles," Zarine requested, looking at the elderly man, coughing slightly.

"You'll make that cough worse with fried noodles," he told her.

"Wanton soup, Zarine can have it with noodles if she wants," Carrie said, looking at her.

"Fine, that'll be good," Zarine said. She frowned as she tried to figure out where she had made a mistake on the bead fish.

"Alright, you can chow in twenty minutes," Grandpa said.

"Yes, Grandpa," the two girls said absently.

"I don't get why Ray insisted that we come here," Carrie grumbled.

"He said that if we're alone, we're bound to do something crazy together. He's convinced that we're going to end up lying in a ditch somewhere," Zarine answered. When she saw the disbelief on Carrie's face, she said, "Don't even ask me how he got that idea."

"Don't worry, I don't even want to know."

"So did you have fun?" Ray asked his girlfriend after school. He looked at her, admiring how her silvery hair shines in the sun. He was just itching to touch it, but he resisted the temptation. He didn't think Zarine liked it the last time he ran his hand through her hair.

She nodded happily. "You bet I had fun," she answered, smiling.

When they arrived at Kai's mansion, someone unexpected was there.

"Leo, what are you doing here?" Zarine questioned in surprise.

"Oh, I just came here to see how you were doing. And to give you this," he replied, handing her a bouquet of flowers.

"They're beautiful, thanks!" she said appreciatively. She took a deep breath and inhaled the sweetness of the lilies.

He said, "You're welcome. I'll just finish the project and hand it in on Monday since you're ill, what do you say?"

"No, come here tomorrow and we'll work on it together. We're supposed to be partners after all," she said before admiring the flowers again.

Leo smirked at Ray's frown. "Okay, so tomorrow night I'll come and we can work on it together."

"Sure," she said distractedly, still busy looking at the lilies.

"Get better soon. I look forward to seeing you again in class," he said, hugging her carefully so he wouldn't squash the flowers by accident.

Ray's face was a thundercloud as he watched the two of them. He didn't like the thought of Leo looking at Zarine let alone _hugging_ her.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow," Zarine said, and waved happily at Leo.

She turned to Ray, and said, "See? Leo is nice. Why don't you like him?"

"Because he's trying to steal you away, that's why!" her boyfriend fumed. "I don't want to lose you to someone like him. I refuse to lose you to anyone!"

"You know I'm not going to leave you. Besides, he's just being nice. If he really wants to steal your girlfriend from under your nose, wouldn't he give me red roses, instead of lilies??" she questioned, confused. "Besides, he likes Shea, not me."

He sighed, thinking of how innocent she was considering her past experiences with guys. If only Zarine would believe what he told him about that jerk! "Zarine, just forget it, alright?" he said, and walked off towards the stairs.

"Why? Obviously, it's really bothering you. You can talk to me about things. I thought that's why you have me," she told him. She ran up and caught his arm. "I'm not just some thing you have to show off to people, you know?"

"I know," he responded, kissing her on the forehead. "I know."

Shea sat on her bed, inspecting her nails. Oh, how she longed to dig them into Zarine's face, and ruin her looks. She's convinced that the only reason Ray was going out with her was because how beautiful that brat was. She had to admit it to herself, if most grudgingly, that Zarine was the best looking person she had seen in her life. Somehow, she had to get Ray's girlfriend out of the picture. It was either that or she had to make Ray dump her...somehow.

As if God was listening to her thoughts, a phone call, which would change everything, came...

It was Saturday and everyone was at Tyson's dojo. "I want to go shopping," Carrie groaned.

"You've already said that about a hundred times today," Tyson said, covering his ears. "And we had decided that we are not going to the mall."

"It's better than doing nothing like we are now," Zarine yawned, shifting her head slightly on Ray's lap.

"I agree," Max moaned, also yawning. "I need to get candy.......I haven't been hyper for the past three days."

"Let's have a vote," Hilary said. "Whoever that wants to go to the mall say aye."

"Aye!" Zarine, Carrie, Jewels, Hilary, and Max chorused. Zarine tugged slightly on her boyfriend's shirt, and Ray added, "Aye."

"What are we waiting for then?" Carrie demanded, jumping up onto her feet.

Tyson complained, "But I don't wanna go!"

"Fine, stay here if you want," Jewels said. "We're not forcing you to go."

"Come on, buddy. We can buy candy and get hyper together," Max said with an excited smile on his face.

"That does sound like fun," the blue haired boy said slowly, considering the idea. "I suppose I wouldn't die. What about you, Kenny, Kai?"

Kai grunted in response, while Kenny shrugged. "I wouldn't mind."

The girls cheered, and took each of the guys by their hand. "Let's go!"

Kai could feel his face heat up when Jewels took his hand and dragged him out of the dojo. He tried to will the blush to disappear, but to no avail, it only got brighter and brighter. By the time they got to the mall, it was as bright as a tomato, literally.

"Um, Kai, why is your face so red?" Jewels asked.

His face only turned redder when he looked at her, butterflies flying around in his stomach.

Tyson suddenly laugh. "Haha, Kai's in love! Kai's in love! Kai and Jewels sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Kai ignored Tyson, his blush fading fast in his irritation.

"Don't ever say that again," Jewels told him sharply. "We're just friends."

Kai couldn't help but feel a slight twitch of disappointment as he looked at her.

'Just admit it, you totally have a thing for her,' the annoying little voice in his head urged. 'You don't have to tell anyone, just admit it to yourself.

'I don't feel anything for her but friendship,' the Russian insisted, even when he felt his stomach clutch in anxiety when his gaze landed on Jewels.

'Don't you want to know what you really feel for her? It would be less of a burden if you figure it out now,' the voice taunted. 'Are you scared? Are you scared that you might like someone?'

He couldn't make a choice. It would be nice to be sure of himself once again, but on the other hand, what if he did like her, but Jewels didn't feel the same?

"KAI!" Tyson bellowed. "I'M HUNGRY, LET'S EAT! HELLO, HELLO, CAN YOU HEAR ME? KAI!"

"What?" Kai asked stonily, feeling put out with Tyson for interrupting his thoughts.

"Oh, glad to see that you've snapped out of it. What happened there? You totally zoned out," Tyson said.

"Yeah, it was like you're in another place. You didn't respond when we were shaking you," Zarine said.

"It was freaky if you ask me," Kenny remarked. "What's bothering you? This is so unlike you. You're usually so alert to your surroundings."

"Nothing, I was just thinking," Kai responded shortly. He couldn't tell them his problem, especially with Tyson around. Tyson would tease him until the end of days if he did.

"Okay, well, let's have lunch before Tyson make us deaf with his complaints," Ray said, sensing that Kai wasn't comfortable with the subject. He let go of Zarine's waist, so he could go and talk to Kai alone. His girlfriend smiled understandingly at him before engaging Carrie in a conversation.

"Ray, I'll tell you later. It's complicated," Kai told his friend. They were quiet for a moment, and then Kai asked, "What is it like to have a girlfriend?" The black haired boy was taken back by surprise, out of all the questions that he expected Kai to ask, this question was near the bottom of the list.

"Uh...good question," Ray responded. "I'll get back to you on that..."

"You have a girlfriend, why is it so difficult to tell me?" Kai demanded impatiently.

Blushing, Ray said, "I'm not going to tell you about it in public. It's too personal."

Up ahead, Tyson was arguing with Hilary. "If you want to eat ten roast beefs for lunch, then you shouldn't eat a big bucket of candy afterwards!!!"

"Why not???!!! I can do whatever I want with my stomach, Hil," Tyson told her.

"FINE! Don't go crying to me when your stomach explodes, because I ain't going to give you mine!" Hilary snapped.

"Don't worry, your stomach is so small, it's useless," he said.

"You..." the brunette began, but she was unable to continue because she couldn't think of anything to say. After a few seconds, she finished, "...PIG!"

Jewels rolled her eyes and remarked, "I wonder why they aren't married yet."

"Possibly because Grandpa and Hilary's parents know that they kill each other within the hour if they were married," Zarine replied.

"Good point," Jewels said.

Hilary and Tyson were both sulking through lunch, and refused to talk. "Let's get candy," Max suggested. "That's what I came here for."

They made their way to one of the best store for sweets. "Wow!" Zarine said when she saw the ice cream section.

"Humph, I'll wait outside," Kai grunted.

"Sourpuss," Zarine muttered under her breath. 

While Zarine was goggled at the ice cream, Max and Tyson were busy scooping candy into a plastic bag.

"Sour keys," Max exclaimed. "Boy, I have to get some of that!"

"Look Maxie, coke bottles, Berries! Hershey Kisses, and Hugs!" Tyson said, pointing at the opposite section.

"There are too many to choose from, they'll never fit into this bag," Max complained.

"You can buy a full box for thirty dollars," the clerk said, pointing to empty round, clear plastic containers.

Tyson got it and said, "Now we can have every kind if we want!"

They walked out fifteen minutes later, and began to stuff their faces with candy.

"Aren't the girls out yet?" Max asked thickly through a mouthful of gummy bears.

Zarine is still trying to decide what ice cream she wants," Hilary said.

"No, I want cookie dough. No, wait, strawberry, no.....wait, mint chocolate chip, no, actually, I want maple walnut.........maybe not..." the silver haired girl said indecisively.

"Zarine, make up your mind," Jewels said.

"I'll have maple walnut," Zarine said at last.

They walked back, and she accidentally tripped. The ice cream cone flew out of her hand and SPLAT!

She got up with her face flaming with embarrassment when she heard the others laughed. However, when she looked up, she realized that they weren't laughing at her, they were laughing at Kai!

When the ice cream flew out of her hand, it landed on Kai's nose! Zarine burst out laughing at the sight. "Sorry, Kai," she said, still laughing hard. She removed the cone from his nose, and used her napkin to wipe the ice cream off.

"You shouldn't have moved it!" Jewels gasped, "He looked like Pinocchio with it!"

Everyone laughed even harder. It was difficult to imagine Kai being something as cute as Pinocchio.

"Don't lie, Kai, or your nose might grow longer," Tyson said, cracking up.

Kai was getting more and more annoyed by the second. "Come to think of it, he doesn't have the look. Pinocchio never looked this sour when I last saw him," Jewels commented.

Without thinking, Kai pinned Jewels to the wall. "Yeah, well Pinocchio never kissed like this either." He leaned down and claimed her lips in a passionate kiss.

She melted against him instantly and responded.

The others watched them with mixed expressions. Tyson and Max looked like they were about to laugh, Kenny's expression clearly told everyone that he would rather be anything else rather than watch his friends kiss, Ray's was surprised and Carrie and Zarine looked happy. Kai and Jewels attracted watchers. After an eternity, they finally realized that they were in public and people were watching them.

Jewels looked mortified as she saw the crowd around them. Someone in the mob clapped and shouted, "Congratulations!"

Other people also began to clap for them. When they stopped, Jewels stammered, "We – we're not together."

"You should be then, because you make a damn cute couple!" someone said.

"Let's get out of here," Kai muttered to her. "Meet at Tyson's later," he told the others before grabbing Jewels' hand and ran top speed out of the mall.

Carrie laughed incredulously. "Can you believe them?" she gasped.

"We should get out of this place before someone tries to play matchmaker with us," Hilary said.

"What about Kai and Jewels?" Kenny questioned. "Shouldn't we go and find them first?"

"No way, this is the perfect opportunity for them to get together," Zarine answered.

After three hours, the girls finally got bored of walking around in the mall. "Ray, I'm tired," Zarine said, panting with the effort to try and keep up. "Can we rest?"

"Again?" Ray asked worriedly. "Zarine, you've been resting for half the time we've been here." He put a hand on her forehead, fearing her fever had gotten worse. "I can carry you on my back the rest of the way."

She nodded. "I'm not too heavy, am I?" she asked when she was on his back.

"You're really light," he assured her. "I'm not going to get tired anytime soon."

When they got back to Tyson's dojo, Jewels and Kai were nowhere to be seen. "I'm going to stay here until my sister shows up," Carrie said.

"Hehe," Max giggled, "Look this is Mrs. Gummy, this is Mr. Gummy. They're married, and they have two kids, Big Gummy, and Small Gummy."

"Uh oh," Kenny said. "Max is on sugar."

"Haha, Mr. Gummy has no head," the hyper blonde laughed.

"Tyson, how much candy did you let him have?" Ray asked.

"Um, I didn't eat a lot of them since he would slap my hand every time I do," Tyson answered.

"Tyson! You let him have almost the whole container?" Hilary screeched.

"Don't yell," Tyson said crossly. "I didn't know."

"Guys, let's all be rockets and fly around," Max said, running around and crashing into things.

Carrie looked at him and winced. "He's seriously scaring me."

"Max, you'll break everything!" Tyson said, trying to get Max to stop running around the room blindly.

"Who cares?" Max giggled, turning back to look at Tyson. "I bet you can't catch me."

"Watch out!" Kenny warned. Too late, Max had ran into the rack with the practice swords.

The rack fell onto him, and one of the wooden swords fell onto his head. The blonde haired boy laid on the ground, and let out another giggle before falling unconscious.

"MAXIE!"

* * *

No poll this time.....I can't think of anything.............


	25. Chapter 24: A Pleasant Awakening

* * *

I'm so glad you liked my last chapter! I've been dying to write the ice cream and the part about Max getting hyper for the longest time. Personally, I loved those parts, but I have to say I liked the part about Max getting hyper the best. 

I'm quite surprised that no one mention Shea's phone call in the review! I mean, come on! Don't you wanna know what evil plan she has in store for Zarine? Anyway, that part comes later, but you're going to find out who called her...soon!

Eden: Are you sure you didn't sleepwalk to the computer and reviewed? Lol. It's okay. I did get confuse there, but it's all good.

Cooperstar: Well...the comment about Ray and Zarine. Who knows what one will do for love, right? And about Zarine, she likes Leo, so she doesn't want to think that he's a bad person. She sees him as a good friend after all.

Anime-girl412: I agree...I wasn't going to put the audience there when I first thought of the Pinocchio thing because I didn't think of it, but the crowd makes it more interesting, so I put it there.

India: Are you speaking on behalf of the country, India? Hehe, just kidding. I already have something planned for those two in the library. I'm not going to use your idea because I have something in store for Shea, Leo, Ray and Zarine in later chapters...possibly in the next few chapters.

Sapphire-sword: I dunno about them getting together yet, but when they do, I have this hilarious plan. There are simply too many secrets to keep. Do you know the perfect way to get them together??? Don't suggest Kai eating a candle light dinner with Jewels though, because that's just so...un-Kaiish. Lol.

Now, let's take a look at what Kai and Jewels were doing while the others shopped, shall we? :)

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Four - A Pleasant Awakening 

Kai and Jewels ran all the way back to Kai's front yard, breathless. They collapsed onto the lawn. "I thought we were going to be stuck there forever," Jewels breathed in relieve.

"When all is lost, run," Kai told her, his voice calm. He was calm on the surface, but beneath it, he was writhing inside with discontent and nervousness. He avoided looking at the red haired girl, because it only made his stomach knot tighter.

"I've always thought that you cared about your pride too much to run away from anything," she commented.

He snorted. "I'm not stupid. I know when I need to stop, unlike Tyson. He believes he can take on anything, I don't." [I don't believe that I can stand looking at you anymore.] he thought. [You're making me someone that I'm not, even though you're not doing anything.]

They were silent for a long while then... "Kai?" Jewels said uncertainly.

Kai grunted to signal that he was listening.

"Why did you kiss me at the mall? And what about that day at the amusement park?" she asked, gazing into his auburn eyes.

He didn't answer her. He didn't even know why! They were on the spur of the moment, and he didn't even realize that he was kissing her. All he remembered was that he was having the time of his life.

He wished she wasn't looking at him so expectantly for an answer. He didn't have one for her. He couldn't even tell her what he felt for her!

Jewels hoped that he wouldn't tell her that he was only fooling around with her. She was ready to admit that she liked kissing him and maybe had feelings for him. After all, if she liked him a year ago, it was possible that she liked him once again. She felt a small spark of hope in her heart. Maybe Kai felt something for her?

'I have no idea what your problem is,' Dranzer told Kai bluntly. 'If you really liked her a year ago, and you had openly admitted to your friends that you did, then why are you so afraid to accept the fact that you like her again?'

'I only admitted it because it was in a game of truth or dare!' he protested. 'Besides, she had changed so much. I barely know her.'

'Stop using that as an excuse!' his bit-beast said sternly. Then his voice softened, 'She's not as different as you think. Carrie taught her how to open up more to other people. It's a good thing. Do you want her to be aloof to everyone that she meets for the rest of her life?'

"Kai, are you going to answer me or what?" Jewels asked crossly, getting impatient.

He just sat there, unable to tell her anything because he was so confused.

She stood up angrily when he didn't answer. "You know what? Just forget it. I don't even know why you kissed me. Or why I kissed you back. Oh, was it because you thought I was convenient, because I was just there, hanging around? Go pick up another girl if you're so desperate. You can pick up some slut on the street anytime you want, but don't waste time on me or waste my time either." She started to walk away when Kai grabbed her wrist in an iron grip. He didn't hurt her, but it was clear that he didn't intend to let her get away.

"Let go," she said coldly, trying to pull her wrist futilely from his grasp.

"Do you honestly think I'm going to sink as low as picking a girl up from the streets?" he demanded, his eyes smoldered with anger.

"Then answer my question, why did you do it?" she questioned.

"I don't know!" he snapped, ran his free hand into his hair.

She asked, "How can you not know why you kissed a girl twice?"

"It's not like you know why you kissed me back either. You could have pushed me away but you didn't," he said, and smirked in triumph when he saw her look away, at loss for a reply.

She jabbed a finger into his chest, but it felt like she was trying to jab a wall. "How do you know that I kissed you back because I think you're a good kisser?"

"Aha, so you are saying that I'm a good kisser?" he questioned, his smirk growing wider.

The violet eyed girl in front of him blushed. "I never said that!" she protested, hoping to cover up the fact that she did thought that he was good at kissing.

"You're lying," he stated simply.

"No, I'm not!" she denied, her blushing deepening every second.

Kai just gazed at her with an amused expression on his face. Finally, even she could not look him in the eye anymore and had to look away.

Jewels cracked under the pressure. "Fine! So what if you are a damn good kisser?"

"I expected you to be impressed. You were the first girl that I had ever laid my lips on," he told her.

"It takes more than that to impress me, Hiwatari," she said haughtily. "Try something else."

He thought about it for a moment, and then he kissed her. This time, he knew exactly what he was doing. Afterwards, he asked, "Are you impressed now?"

"No," she replied. "Don't ever kiss me again without my permission."

"What will impress you then?" he asked exasperatedly. "You're so demanding."

"Wrong, I just have high standards," she retorted. "When you get enough courage to tell me how you really feel about me, then I'll be impressed." She walked off, leaving Kai behind to stare at her back.

"MAXIE!"

The others turned to the speaker and found a certain girl with blue hair and piercing emerald eyes standing in the doorway.

"Mariam!" Zarine cried in surprise. She recovered after a moment and ran to envelop her friend in a hug. "I thought you weren't coming until school is over!"

"Yeah, you certainly surprised us," Hilary said. "But I think Max will be the most surprised of all. He didn't plan on welcoming you by knocking himself out."

"Why did Max knock himself unconscious?" Mariam asked in concern.

"Oh, him, he just got hyper and started crashing into things," Carrie answered, peering curiously at the newcomer.

"Mariam, this is Carrie. And Carrie, this is Mariam," Chief said, introducing the two of them.

"Hi," the red head said brightly.

"Hi," Mariam said coolly, her eyes latched onto Carrie's.

Carrie's eyes could rival hers. They were a shade darker, but just as green as hers were.

Max groaned and touched the lump of his head. "Ow, what happened?" He looked at the wooden swords on him in confusion.

"Max, are you all right?" Mariam asked, rushing to his side.

"Mariam?? Is that really you?" he asked joyfully. "When did you arrive?"

The emerald eyed girl smiled. "Yep, it's me. And I arrived in time to see the swords knock you out."

"Oops!" the blonde said in a happy tone. He wasn't affected by that fact at all. "This is so awesome!" He jumped up like a rack wasn't on him, hugged his girlfriend and gave her a kiss.

"Am I missing something here?" Carrie questioned, puzzled.

"Our dear Max has a girlfriend," Zarine told her.

"Aww...that's so cute!" Carrie exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Then Jewels walked in. "Hey guys!" she said. Spotting Mariam by Max's side, she asked, "Who the hell are you?"

Her twin winced. Whenever Jewels was in a bad mood, she's not too civil to strangers. "Jewels, this is Mariam, Max's girlfriend. Mariam, this is Jewels, my twin sister," Carrie said hurriedly, hoping to patch things up.

"You're her twin?" Mariam asked Jewels, looking from her to Carrie. "But you don't –"

"Yeah, yeah. We don't look alike, we don't sound the same, we aren't the same size," Jewels listed. "Want me to go on?"

"Jewels, what have your boyfriend done now?" Carrie asked, when she spotted Kai in the doorway. She gave him a look that warned him not to say anything.

Tyson snorted, choking on his fifth cup of coke. Zarine shot him a withering look and the desire to laugh diminished immediately.

"What boyfriend?" Jewels said crossly. Her back was turned to Kai so she didn't know that he was there, listening to them.

"Kai!" her sister said. "Hello? Did a practice sword knock you out too?"

"That Hiwatari moron is NOT my boyfriend!" she fumed.

Mariam burst out in laughter. "You're the first person that had ever called him that I'll wager, within his hearing range too.

Jewels looked back and saw Kai standing there, his eyes narrowed. She turned back to Mariam and smiled, "His arrogant attitude certainly does not impress me."

"I bet that kiss did," Tyson remarked, laughing. "You guys were nearly swallowing each other's tongues!"

"Say that again?" Kai and Jewels demanded.

Tyson gulped and tried to hide behind Ray. The black haired boy frowned, "Tyson, you really have to work on your social skills."

Grandpa came in yelling, "INCOMING!" He aimed for Tyson's head, but Tyson dodged. Unfortunately, Ray couldn't get out of the way, and got hit instead.

"You gotta be on guard at all times, dude. Constant vigilance! (Haha, I know that's Moody's line from Harry Potter, but I just wanted to use it here.)," the old man told him.

"Yes, gramps," Ray said.

"Hey, dawg, what are you doing here?" Grandpa asked when he spotted Mariam.

"I decided to come early since I missed Max," Mariam replied.

"So are you homies going to stay here for dinner? You're more than welcome to," he offered.

"But Grandpa! They'll clear out the fridge!" his grandson protested.

"So now food is more important than you than us?" Hilary said, slapping his arm.

"On second thought, no," he said.

Grandpa chuckled. "Are you going to stay?"

"No thanks," Kai said. "Ray, Zarine, are you coming?"

"I am!" Zarine said. Before she ran up to follow Kai, she turned to the others and said, "Bye!"

"Zarine, wait!" Ray called, running after her.

"We should go," Carrie said to Jewels. "Mom is probably expecting us for dinner." That wasn't the real reason that she wanted to go. She didn't want to miss Jason when his phone call comes.

"There's no way I'm staying here to watch him eat!" Hilary said, shuddering at the thought.

"And I think Mariam and I should spend time together tonight," Max told Grandpa, taking Mariam's hand in his.

Kenny also made an excuse about having to catch up his homework and left.

* * *

Leo followed the butler to the library, where Zarine was waiting for him to finish their homework together. His eyes went wide as he saw the size of it. It was as large room and the rows of shelves were covered with books. 

Zarine was sitting on the ground, making something with beads. Boxes of them surrounded her, and there were beads of every color imaginable in them.

"Hey," she said warmly. "Let me just put the boxes aside then we can start." She began closing the lids of the plastic boxes and stacking them against the wall.

He helped her, but his feet accidentally knocked the last two over. Blue and red beads spilled and rolled everywhere.

"Oh no," Zarine exclaimed, and scrambled after them.

He crawled on the ground, collecting as many of them as he could. Not watching where he was going, his head hit Zarine's, causing her to yelp.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly when she narrowed her eyes at him. "I'll just sit and wait since I'm just a clumsy oaf."

She nodded, but didn't seem angry or annoyed at him.

"So it must be nice living here in this big house," he remarked, looking around the luxurious room.

"Yeah, but it's so big. Only Kai knows it good enough to not get lost in here," she responded.

When she was sure that she hunted down every spilled bead, she suggested, "Let's work on it on the floor."

"Why not the table?" he asked, looking a little disappointed at the squishy chairs.

She grinned, "Because I like sitting on the floor. You can sit in those chairs if you like though."

After two hours, they managed to get everything except for the poster done.

He watched her glue the pictures onto the poster. He had to admit to himself that she was cute and he did like her kind personality. He couldn't help feeling sorry for her. By the time his and Shea's plan was complete, she would be heart broken. Ray would be too, but Leo didn't feel bad or guilty for him.

Then an idea came to him, why wait? He could make his move on Zarine now.

Moving closer to her, he slowly slipped a hand under her shirt and rubbed her back.

"Leo, what are you doing?" Zarine asked, looking anxious.

He whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." His hand began to move to her stomach, feeling her soft skin. He lowered his head and started kissing her neck.

"No, don't!" she said, trying to push him away, but his other arm encircled her waist tightly, trapping her. "Leo, I'm with Ray! You know that! Now let me go!"

He ignored her command, and continued to kiss her and feel her body. She started to panic, what was he going to do to her? She hoped that Ray would come in and make him stop. Then her heart sank, she had told Ray not to disturb them because she knew that he hated Leo. He wasn't going to come.

Leo felt Zarine trembling and he stopped. She was looking at him wide eyed with fear. Knowing that he had made his move too soon, he let go of her, and sat down onto a chair. "I'm sorry," he said, making his voice sound apologetic. "It's just you know how beautiful you are. I guess I forgot myself. Will you please forgive me?"

Zarine looked into his eyes suspiciously. He seemed sincere, but who knows if he truly was? She nodded, because she was willing to give him another chance. However, she was going to take what Ray had told her into consideration and be more careful around him.

"Friends?" he asked hopefully.

Zarine gave him a small smile and answered, "Friends."

* * *

This isn't as exciting as the last one, I know. But I can't make every chapter like that. Next chapter will be about Max and Mariam, if I can get an idea what they can do together! Help anyone?

Poll: Are you...

a girl.

a guy.

Stupid poll, but I'm very curious to see if any guy actually reads this! It's just not a fic I picture a male to be reading. Excuse my sexist POV on this.


	26. Help Alert!

Help Alert!

Can someone give me an idea for Max and Mariam's date?? I can't think of one! Well, I can, but I don't like any of my ideas. I want it to be special, not a boring old movie for them, and then a moonlight walk. Seriously, how many times had that appeared on ? This is a desperate plea for help!


	27. Chapter 25: Parents!

Now, now, where did you guys get the idea that I have any intention of getting Kenny and Carrie together? Who implanted that idea? (Glares at everyone suspiciously) A lot of people mentioned that pairing for some reason. (Confused look)

Eden: Yeah, I know! Jewels totally put Kai where he belongs. Ha, well nearly.

Diamond Core: I could use parts of your idea...As for Leo...well you're just going to have to wait and see.

Raymond: Um...read and see?

AnimeCrazedGal: That question will be answered shortly.

Kanilla: Lol, the comment about guys was so true! They are really dense sometimes. Wait, no, I mean most of the time.

Pishcules: Well you see, Jewels is ready to admit to herself that she likes Kai, and tell the other girls when she realize that she does, but Kai...Man, that stubborn fool is too proud to even admit to himself that he can fall in love with Jewels.

Cooperstar: I agree, what Leo did was terrible.

MaxLover: There's nothing wrong with the poll! I told you the reasons behind it and I think it's reasonable. A girl's gotta satisfy her curiosity somehow.

Clio: That is really unlike Kai. Jewels was the one who started it though, in my POV anyway.

Spazzy's Girl: I know! Ray's just the greatest! (dreamy look) Lol.

YBM: Of course not! I mean, a guy's brain is like, what? As big as a pea!

0bs3ssi0n: I suppose the last scene was a little like the one in Dirty Dancing, but that movie never came into my mind until you mentioned it.

LauncherStrike525: Lol. I think you're the only guy who reads this. How can you bring yourself to read, okay, I really shouldn't say this, but, it's such a....lovey romance story, ya no? It's just kind of weird...Lol, not that I don't appreciate your reviews or anything. Don't worry, the next story will have more action and less romance!

Puppalupp: What do you mean Finally, another chapter? I updated two or three days before the last one, but I guess was screwed up again and didn't send my readers an alert...

El-drydzia: I loved that part so much! It was probably my favourite part of the story.

Anim3-ang3l: Take your pick! He's hot either way!

Minijkitty: We can only hope that there are some guys out there who are as sweet as Ray! But seriously, had you even met one yet?? I know I haven't...Lol.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Five – Parents! (Credits to Wreckless Spirit for the idea!)

"He didn't do anything, did he?" Ray interrogated Zarine as soon as Leo left.

"Um....no," Zarine lied. She knew if Ray found out what Leo did, he'll go crazy and kill Leo, most likely. She didn't like people to get hurt over her.

However, he could tell that she was lying because she hesitated. Grabbing her shoulders, he demanded, "What did he do to you?"

"Ray, he did nothing," she insisted, looking away from him.

"Don't lie, he did something. He did, didn't he?" he pressed. "Zarine, just tell me!"

"He tried to kiss me," she lied. "But he didn't do anything else, I swear!"

"I told him to keep his hands off of you!" he said angrily. "I warned him."

"Ray, it's okay. It's not like he really did anything," Zarine said. "You can't go beating up every guy that makes a move on me." She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him gently. "I don't want my boyfriend to turn into a violent person."

Ray smiled. "I thought you didn't want to kiss because you are still sick."

She blushed and said, "Can you stop embarrassing me every time I kiss you? It's not illegal, you know? You should be grateful that I kiss you at on, Zarine, you know you want to," he teased and winked at her.

Then, Kai came along, looking troubled. "Hey, Kai!" the petite girl said brightly.

Our sexy Russian boy didn't bother to answer her as he passed, still looking up ahead.

"Kai!" she said loudly, shaking his arm. "Earth to Kai!"

He looked up finally, his face showing confusion. "Huh?"

"Why have you been so lost lately? You passed right by us and you didn't even say hi, or give any sign that we existed!" Zarine told him crossly.

The truth was, they didn't exist in his mind then. He was busy thinking about Jewels. He thought about how great it was to drown in the deep violet pools of her eyes, how sweet it was to kiss her, how close to her he felt whenever he smelt her cinnamon scent, and the way her hair looks when the sun is shining on it. It doesn't sparkle or shine like Zarine's, it _glows_, like amber.

Kai sighed heavily. "Is it Jewels?" Ray asked.

The blue haired boy nodded, and looked a bit embarrassed.

"Wow, if she can make you act like this, she must mean a lot to you," Zarine remarked thoughtfully.

"Ray, can I talk to you?" he asked. Ray nodded, wondering what Kai wanted.

"Oh, so now, Ray's advice is going to be better than mine?" the girl demanded, hands on her hips.

Kai smirked and nodded, knowing exactly how she would react.

She scoffed, "Guys," before walking away. 'I swear, they always make the wrong choice! How can Ray's advice be better than a girl's?' she complained to her bit-beast.

'I agree, neither of them had fully understood the female's species way of thinking,' Xeora said in amusement. 'I know that Driger, Dragoon, and the other group leaders don't. They've been around for...well...for quite a long time now, and I can tell they only know what a girl's thinking thirty percent of the time.'

'Do they know what you're thinking about?' Zarine asked.

'Nah, I surprise them every now and then. Surprises keep men on their toes,' her bit-beast told her. 'Besides, it's so much fun!'

'I'll remember that,' the girl with the silver hair laughed.

"Dad!" Max called when he reached the house. "I'm home! Mariam is here!"

"Hey, Mariam," Max's dad said cheerfully as he walked into the room.

"Hello," the blue haired girl said politely.

"I just got dinner ready, you can stay and eat with us. I bought some brownie today for desert," the man said.

"Oh boy! Brownie!" his son exclaimed, all thoughts of dinner at a restaurant gone from his mind.

"Sure," she accepted his offer with a smile.

After dinner and the delicious brownie, Max let out a loud burp. "Oops, excuse me," he said sheepishly, a wide grin still on his face. (He hasn't been able to stop smiling since he saw Mariam, lol.)

"Dad, Mariam and I are going out," he said, grabbing his girlfriend's hand.

"Don't stay out too late," his dad said.

"So do you have anywhere you want to go?" Max asked.

"Not really," Mariam said uncertainly. "Where do you want to go?"

He thought for a moment before responding, "Yep, just follow me!"

The street was full of people still since it was the weekend. The crowdedness of the streets made Mariam excited to be around people after being isolated in the village for so long.

"Ozuma is training to be the tribe leader," she told Max.

"That's cool, he's suited to be one," he said. "What about Dunga and Joseph? What are they doing?"

"My brother is being a monkey as usual, he's too young to be deciding what he wants to do in the village. Dunga is taking an anger management course. God knows he needs major help in it. When I left the village, he was failing the course miserably," she said. "His bad temper is only to be expected, he came from a long line of bad tempered ancestors."

"What do you want to do for your future there?" he questioned, wondering if she would go back and contribute something to her village.

"I...I don't want to stay there. I like cities better," she said, a hint of defiance in her voice.

Max frowned. "Wouldn't the people in the village get upset if you leave them?"

They turned the corner and walked through the automatic door of the mall.

"Let's not talk about it," she said shortly. "So are Ray and Zarine happy together?"

"Yeah, they argued a couple of times but nothing too bad happened," he answered, leading her past the fountain. When he was in front of a chocolate shop, he stopped. "We're here," he announced with a big smile. He could taste the chocolate in his mouth.

"Why are we here?" she asked.

Max didn't answer. Mariam followed Max to the back of the store. There were a buckets full of melted chocolate and molds of every kind.

"We get to make our own chocolate here into whatever shape we want," he told her happily.

"And this had to be something related to sweets," she remarked.

Max looked crestfallen. "I thought we can have a fun time together making chocolate."

"I didn't mean that I don't want to. I'm just saying this was related to candy," Mariam told him.

"Oh, okay! Would you like a heart or butterfly, my lady?" he asked, bowing.

"You're sweet Max, but not as sweet as chocolate," she said before looking for a mold."

He smiled at her bluntness, knowing that she didn't mean it in a hurtful way.

* * *

Jewels glared at her sister through dinner. The rest of the family sensed her foul mood and stayed silent through dinner. Her parents didn't have their usual long debate about the government for fear that she would explode. The only sound heard in the room was the clanking of cutlery.

Mr. Satuki wondered what was up with the twins since they usually got along really well. He turned his gaze on Carrie, she was eating cheerily as if she didn't have a care in the world.

"What's the matter with you, Jewels?" her mom questioned hesitantly.

"Nothing," Jewels snapped. "I'm just fine. It's not me that has a problem."

[Oh great, here we go.] Carrie thought, her good mood evaporating as fast as her sister's patience.

"Are you sure?" her dad asked. "You looked really bothered."

"Maybe if some people don't make up stuff in front of strangers," she said, shooting a irritated but meaningful glare at her green eyed sister, "then I'll be fine."

"Get a grip on yourself, Jewels," Carrie said calmly. "All I did was saying that Kai's your boyfriend in front of Mariam. You handle the situation quite well. I think she got the point that he isn't when you called him a moron."

"What's the problem with that young man? Your mother and I approve of him. We think he would be great for you," her dad told her.

"All the more reason for me not to go out with him," Jewels muttered under her breath.

Carrie was having a hard time trying not to laugh. "Why not? You do like him," Mrs. Satsuki said, frowning.

"Yeah, as a friend, not as a lover!" her daughter snarled. "Excuse me." She walked out of the room, leaving her half finished dinner behind.

Carrie's parents looked at her and she shrugged. She was used to Jewels' behavior to care. "She'll come around and date Kai eventually," she said. "My dear champies (her nickname for the Bladebreakers) and I would get them together soon."

"I sure hope so, he would make a great son-in-law," her mom said dreamily.

"Mom!" the redhead exclaimed in surprise. "You better not mention that to Jewels. We're sixteen for heaven's sake! We don't want to think about marrying and having all the responsibility that comes with it yet!"

* * *

Forgive me for such a long wait and such a short chapter! I have the dreaded writer's block, heh. I'll continue the date next chapter, I think I got it figured out...yeah...I do!! Oh ya, do you think Mariam acts like the way she does in the story? It's kind of vague in the show what she's really like apart from being sarcastic.

Thanks to everyone who sent in ideas for the date!!! I really appreciate it! I would use the carnival idea, but I think it'll be better for the whole gang to go. Fun for everyone!


	28. Chapter 26: Mariam's Confession

Nise-angel: I totally agree with you! Romance always spices things up! If they intended the show for 8 year old boys, then why do a whole bunch of teenage girls like it? Lol!

Clio: Oops, that was just a typo. If I wasn't being my lazy old self and check it over, then I would've corrected it. Haha, well, um...great observations, but I don't know if it'll come true. Thanks for writing such a long review! I was so happy when I read it!

Minijkitty: If you find a guy like Ray, be sure to introduce him to me! Lol!

Rayrules: I know! I can't believe a guy is reading my story either. I wonder why...

Kanilla: The goddess of love? Doesn't that make me sound like Cupid?? Lol. I certainly never pictured myself as a divinity.

Diamond Core: Em...it's Carrie, not Cassie. Don't worry about Tyson and Hil, they'll be paired up soon, after Kai and Jewels.

Queen of Fantasy: I dunno how I got so many reviews. I started out like everyone. Oh and I also asked the host of Destination: Beyblade to put my stories up in her Fanfic section. Go to . You have to check out the cut scenes of G-Rev! It's so funny! Oh and don't forget the season one shrines!

YBM: Well, the question about what Ray and Kai talked about will never be revealed...you can speculate though!

Insane Sarcasm: Really? 00 I'm glad you liked it even if I didn't like it a lot. It was okay.

Eden: Well I'm sorry it was short!

LauncherStriker: It was only a joke! I didn't mean it really. I know not all guys have pea brains like Tyson. Haha, if you're looking for more action I say you come back when I write my next story because this one is basically about romance. You see, the styles of each of my stories are very different. First one was of tournament and battles. The second one is about love. I mean, the title is Love and Jealousy! The third one, now that's just top secret! It's going to be much more exciting than this one and the last one!

Anime-girl: I'm trying hard to make Mariam act like herself in the show. It's hard because all we've seen of her really are covered in two episodes, the one where she got trapped in the building with Max and the one where she battled him.

Raymond: I know, I love Ray too! But I also love Kai. They're both so damn hot!

------------: Um...this story doesn't have beybattles in it because there are none in it! Not every story have to have battles, ya no? God knows I'm horrible at writing them. :)

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Six – Mariam's Confession

"Hmm...maybe we should make some for the others," Max said thoughtfully. "I bet they'll love it."

"Sure, it's not like we'll be able to eat them all," Mariam said.

By the time they left, they had a whole bag full of chocolate.

They walked in silence then..."Max, I have to tell you something," Mariam said hesitantly.

Max turned his gaze away from the river and onto her emerald eyes. "What is it?"

"I...I ran away from home," she confessed. "The stupid council was talking about making Ozuma and I marry, even though we both don't want to. They weren't bent on it, but still, it would be bad. I wanted to leave the village when I grow up, but I know they'll never let me, so I decided just to run away. Ozuma and Joseph helped me leave the village one night and I came here."

"What are you going to do though?" he asked.

"I don't know," she answered before walking away to sit on the grassy slope.

"You can stay with me until you figure out something," he said from behind, hugging her.

"Thanks," she said, before kissing him.

"What's this until your bed?" Ray asked Zarine.

"I don't know, what's under there?" she questioned quietly before burying her face in the pillow. Her body felt unusually hot and she was dizzy. All she wanted at the moment was sleep. She wiped the drop of sweat rolling down her face and looked at him.

"This box," he said, opening it.

"Hey! That's mine!" she said angrily before snatching it away. "Don't touch it!" She looked down at it. It had been a while since she thought about the whole mystery behind the girl, Dawn, who wrote the diary. So much had happened since she discovered it and she hadn't had much of a chance to think about it.

"I'm sorry," the black haired boy apologized. "I found it on the floor and I got curious. Why can't I look at it?"

"I don't want you to," she snapped. She felt protective of it. It was hers, she found it.

"Where did you get it?" he asked.

"It's none of your business! Just leave me alone! I want to sleep!" she said before putting the box on her night table and plopping her head down onto a pillow. "We can talk tomorrow."

He noticed the sweat forming on her forehead and he said happily, "Look like your fever's broken." Though one thing still bothered him, why didn't Zarine feel cold and then hot? She had for the first day, but afterwards, she was fine, except that her temperature was unnaturally high. He decided that he was going to take her to a doctor the next day, just to make sure she was fine.

'She is fine. Xeora interfered and made Zarine better,' Driger told him with disapprove in his voice. 'I didn't think she should have done that, but it's not like she ever listens to me.'

'I'm glad,' Ray told his bit-beast in relieve.

"GO OUT WITH KAI!" Carrie yelled at her sister later that night.

"NO WAY AM I GOING OUT WITH THE HIWATARI MORON!" Jewels shouted back. "Why should I?"

"Because you like him," Carrie answered as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Besides, you've been moping around since the afternoon, when you and Kai kissed in the mall. It's not exactly fun to be stuck with my grumpy twin."

"Hey, you could've gone out with your boyfriend," Jewels said. "But no, you had a cow over it because there's still a bruise on your cheek."

"Not everyone wants to appear like they've been in a ditch on their first date!" the green eyed girl said, looking at the purple spot on her cheek in the mirror mournfully. "Back to you, just tell him that you like him. It can't be so hard to say three words, can it?"

Her twin said in frustration, "Get this straight in your head! I don't like Kai and I don't want a boyfriend."

"Stubborn mule," Carrie muttered under her breath. Speaking louder, she told Jewels, "Fine, don't take my advice and be miserable. Don't come asking me why you're feeling down." She flopped onto her bed and started flipping through a on, sis," Jewels said, throwing a cushion at Carrie.

"Don't throw that at me," Carrie growled, looking up.

"Make me," the girl with the violet eyes said before throwing another pillow at Carrie.

"Okay that's it!" the short girl yelled as a pillow bounced off her head. She stood up and began whacking her sister with a pillow.

Twenty minutes later, they both collapsed onto the bed, laughing hard. "That was fun," Carrie giggled madly. "Let's do it again."

"Nah, I got a huge rip in this pillow already. Mom will kill us if we destroy another one," Jewels sighed regretfully.

* * *

In the middle of the night...

Max woke up with a start, his arm numb. He looked around in confusion, why was he lying on a slope with Mariam's head on his shoulder??? Then he thought that he and Mariam must have fallen asleep while talking earlier. He looked at his watch and sat up suddenly, waking Mariam.

"What is it?" the blue haired girl asked in a sleepy voice.

"Wake up, it's two in the morning. We have to get home. My dad is going to be so worried," he said urgently.

"Two?!" she said in surprise. "Let's go then."

He picked up the bag of chocolate from the ground and grabbed Mariam's hand in his other one.

They hurried back to Max's house to find his dad still awake. He frowned, "Where have you two been? Tell me if you are going to be late next time, Max."

"I'm sorry. We fell asleep by the river when we were talking," his son apologized.

He smiled, but didn't buy the story. (Haha, know what he's thinking? It's not that hard to figure out.) "Alright, make sure it doesn't happen next time,"

"Do you mind explaining why you're so protective of a diary that's not even yours?" Ray asked the next morning.

"Ray! You weren't supposed to have read it!" Zarine scolded, getting out of the bed.

"It must be Kai's mom or her sister who wrote it," he said thoughtfully. "Did you know that there's a key on the bottom of it? I wonder what it's for."

The mention of 'a key' made her look up sharply at him. "Let me see," she said, holding out her hand.

He put a steel key in her palm. She studied it. It was larger than the average key and it was heavy. "It must be for a big lock or something," she said after a minute.

"We have to give it to Kai," Ray told her seriously.

"No, we don't! It's mine!" Zarine snapped. "I found it!"

"Zarine! You found it here, in this room, in Kai's house! It's his! I bet you anything it's his mom's."

"Then explain this, why does he have his mom's last name and not his dad's?"

He was stumped. How should he know? Kai didn't talk about his family because of his terrible memories of his grandfather. "I'll give it to him on my own. It's none of your business," she said, taking the box away from him.

He gazed at his girlfriend, thinking hard. Why was she being so possessive of a _box_? It had nothing to do with her......unless there was something that she was keeping from him. Another thought hit him, what if she was somehow connected by those two people from the diary?

As the doorbell rang, Carrie peered out the window to see who it was. She let out a gasp as she saw her boyfriend standing at the door, waiting patiently for someone to open it.

"IF ANYONE ASKS FOR ME, I'M NOT HERE!!!!" she shouted before shutting herself into a closet.

"What's going on? Who's at the door?" Jewels asked, barely stifling her laughter.

Carrie glared at her and said, "It's not funny! I'm in my pajamas! What the hell does he have to show up at eight thirty in the morning?"

"Carrie dear, Jason is here. He wants to talk to you," her mom told her absently, hurrying along the hallway with a basket of laundry.

"Mom! I told you to tell him that I wasn't here!" she said.

"Why are you avoiding him? He is your boyfriend."

"That's the problem! I'm in my ABC pajamas for goodness sake! I can't go in his presence looking like this!"

"I'm glad I don't have a boyfriend. It sure saves me a lot of stress," Jewels remarked, rolling her eyes. "Just go down there. If he really likes you, he'll think you look good even if you are wearing something stupid."

"Well, it's not like it's my choice now! He knows I'm here," Carrie pointed out crankily.

"Maybe it's because of all the yelling," Jewels told her.

Carrie ignored her as she walked down the stairs to see the guy who was waiting for her downstairs.

Jason, who had heard every word that Carrie said upstairs, was waiting for her in the living room. He whistled when he saw her walking down the stairs, making her blush furiously.

"How's my hottie doing today?" he teased, kissing her on the cheek.

"I'm good, thanks. But seriously, I'm not hot. I'm wearing PJs that have ABCs on them," she told him.

"Okay, but you look really cute in them," he said. "So do you want to do something together today?"

"Sure..." she said. "When?" [I really shouldn't put off our first date just because of a bruise.] she thought to herself.

"Great, do you want to go out for breakfast? Or do prefer later?" he asked her.

"Let's go now!" she said enthusiastically. She thought Jason was very nice to her and she did like him a lot. "I've been looking forward to doing something with you,"

"You could've said something," he laughed.

"She didn't want to go out on her first date looking like she had been in a ditch, she says," Jewels informed him, fully dressed.

Jason looked at Carrie, his eyebrow raised in question.

She averted her gaze in embarrassment and muttered, "Don't ask. I'm going to get changed."

"What's the story behind that reason?" he asked Jewels.

"It's the bruise on her cheek. She thinks she's completely disfigured because of it, and therefore, not fit to go out with you," the red head explained. "It's one of her quirks."

He sat down on the black leather couch, frowning. The latter about his new girlfriend not wanting to go out with him because of a bruise was kind of upsetting for him. He thought she wasn't that kind of person who freak out because of a little thing like a bruise, or a broken nail like Shea and the rest of her cheerleader girls.

After five minutes, Carrie appeared at the bottom of the stairs, looking very attractive with a red halter and jean shorts. "Now you're just drop dead gorgeous," the blonde haired boy complimented, making her blush again.

"Guys, have fun. But please don't be like anymore sickening than that in my presence," Jewels said, closing the door behind them.

"Your sister is sure a pleasant one to be around," he said.

"Don't mind her, she's like that," Carrie said. She looked a bit startled as he enveloped her small hand in his, but nevertheless smiled at him.

Jewels sighed as she watched the two of them walked down the street through the window. [Why can't I have someone?] she pondered, depressed. [Wait, I did not just think that, did I?]

'You did, don't deny it,' a gleeful voice said in her head. 'Just admit it, you want to be together with Kai.'

[Great, now I'm hearing voices in my head. All this talk about boys had officially driven me to the brink of insanity.] she thought.

'I'm no ordinary voice and you know it!' the voice said, sounding offended.

She bit back, 'Special voice or not, you're still a voice, so just leave me alone and get lost! Why do you care about my love life so much anyway?'

'A friend told me to try and bring you to your senses,' the unknown speaker explained. 'You don't know him in person, but he had asked me for help.'

'Why does your friend care? Wait, I don't want to know, and I certainly don't wait to have another word with you. Stop invading my mind!' she mentally shouted, half convinced that she was going insane.

'Jeez, I'm going to look forward to actually meeting you,' the voice muttered.

'The feeling is mutual,' she sneered back.

'Well it was nice talking to a civilized girl,' the voice said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

'My grasp on civility isn't all that tight," she explained. 'Now good day, and get out!' She breathed in relieve as she felt the presence leave her mind.

* * *

Poll: Which OC is your favourite?? (I forgot to do this last time.)

1) Zarine

2) Jewels

3) Carrie

I think either Zarine or Carrie's my fav. I dunno, I can't choose!!


	29. Chapter 27: First Failure

* * *

Poll Results...1st is Jewels

2nd is Zarine

3rd is Carrie

I'm too lazy to count up the votes, but I'm pretty sure those are the placings

Eden: Lol. Big confrontation? It'll be a confrontation, but I dunno about it being big.

Rayrules: Well, Max is a bit taller than Mariam in this fic. He has to grow sometime. I didn't see the sneak preview because I was stupid enough to forget about it!

Sankikya: Lol, you like them because they have your two favourite guys?

LauncherStriker: Wow, thanks for those reviews...they certain encouraged me...It's not my fault that it's too mushy for you, I mean it's Love and Jealousy! Read the title! What do you expect? I really can't help you here.

Hehe, so you guys think that voice might be Xeora or Dranzer?? Well, guess what? It's neither! You'll find out eventually...it's one of my little schemes, so just put up with it.

I'm just going to skip to the last week of school before summer because I don't feel like writing the rest of their school year.

Chapter Twenty-Seven – First Failure

"School's out in a week!" Tyson said happily, sucking on a lollypop. Max, who was sitting between him and Mariam, was doing the same.

"I know! I'm so excited!" Hilary exclaimed. They were all sitting in a circle in one of the empty rooms in Tyson's dojo.

"You?" Zarine teased. "I thought you loved school. Weren't you talking about that hot substitute earlier today?"

The others looked surprised. "What substitute?" they asked in unison.

"You know the one who's French," the petite girl answered with a sly glance towards Hilary. "He's pretty good looking, I must say." When Ray raised his eyebrow at her, she added quickly, "But no one's ever better than Ray."

"What's so good about him apart from his little French accent?" Tyson demanded, looking jealous. "His attempts at jokes are pathetic too."

"Shut up!" the brunette said angrily. "At least he doesn't have an eating disorder. Why would you care? I thought girls were just a nuisance to you. Anyway, it's really none of your business!"

"It is when..." he trailed off. He was just about to say, 'It is when the guy is not me.' He regained his composure and continued, "...when it is him!" With that said, he stormed out of the room, looking very sulky indeed.

Hilary watched him leave in surprise, "What's his problem?"

"He's just jealous," Kenny replied.

"Why would he be jealous?" she asked, her expression more confused than ever.

"Because he likes you," Carrie answered with exasperation.

Jewels remarked, "Seriously, just get together before it turns into something like a romance tragedy."

"I agree. You guys have been in denial for a year. Just get over the first stage and it'll be fine," Mariam told her brown haired friend.

Hilary's face turned pink. Avoiding her friends' eyes, she denied quietly, "I don't know what you're talking about."

They all sniggered at this comment, except Kai, but even he had a smirk on his face. "Can we please change the subject?" she begged.

"Sure, I need a plan to end the year with a spectacular prank..." Carrie said to the others. "I'm all out of ideas, any help, guys?"

"Set the fire alarm off," our cute blonde haired dude suggested. (Sorry, I just had to do that.)

"Hmm...let's kidnap all the teachers," Mariam said.

"Ambush the principle with water bombs," was Zarine's idea.

"No, I have a great one. We can set the bell so it rings every minute. Since no one pays attention to the teacher after the bell, the day would end pretty quickly, wouldn't you say?" Jewels said wickedly.

"Nah...I think we should kidnap all the teachers. We can drag them outside afterwards, and throw water bombs at them" Carrie said, her mind was already on the details and precautions of the plan.

"How are we ever going to manage that?" Ray questioned.

"With my brilliant mind, nothing is impossible," the red head answered airily. "I'll take care of it and figure it out by my due date, boss."

Last day of school...

Tyson asked Carrie anxiously in a whisper before school started, "You have everything ready right?"

"Had I ever let you down before?" she replied, slamming her locker shut.

"Hey," Zarine said brightly. Turning to Carrie, she asked, "You ready to make yourself the hero of all the students in this school?"

"You betcha," her friend answered. She slipped a brown package into Zarine's hands. "Here's the wig for your super noticeable hair," She lowered her voice so only Tyson and Zarine could hear, "Tell people that the water bombing event is at lunch."

Tyson and Zarine nodded before walking off in different directions to spread the word. By the time the first class was over, nearly everyone had heard about it.

Shea wanted to talk to Ray, but he had already rushed off in the direction of the office. He had to push his way through the thong of people that were filtering through the hallways. He heard occasional greetings from people but he paid them no heed and concentrated on the task ahead of him.

"Hello," he said to the dark haired girl sitting in the secretary's place for the break. "Em...Mr. Nowak need to have a very important meeting in the staffroom with every staff present. Can you notify them through the announcement system?"

"Sure," she said in a bored voice. She picked up the phone and punched a number. Her voice could be heard through every speaker, "Mr. Nowak had called an important meeting. Will every staff please attend it?"

"Mr. Nowak!!" Hilary gasped, running up to the ancient looking teacher. "There has been an accident in the unused part of the school!"

The old man hobbled after her. The chatter of the students faded rapidly as they move farther away from the busy hallways. "It's just right around this corner sir!" the brunette told him. Suddenly she let out a shill shriek before pretending to crumple onto the ground.

The teacher jumped about ten feet into the air. His head turned around anxiously to see the Hilary's 'attacker.' "Is someone there?" he asked, his voice quivering. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as someone hit him with a baseball bat.

"Hil, you can get up now," Tyson chuckled, looking at Hilary's still form.

She opened her eyes, sat up and exclaimed, "God! I thought I was going to have a heart attack there!"

"Kenny nearly peed in his pants while we were waiting for you," Mariam told her.

"Let's lock him up in the janitor's closet," Max suggested. "We have to bound and gag him in case he wakes up before he's supposed to."

Max, Mariam, Tyson, and Kenny dragged him to a closet as Hilary kept a look out for other students.

As soon as the girl announced the 'meeting in the staffroom' through the speakers, Kai said, "Okay, that's our cue."

He climbed a ladder and removed the grate. Because the girls were too short, he had to lift them up to the vent.

"Thanks, Kai!" Carrie said, poking her head out.

"Yeah, we'll see you if we don't get caught!" said Zarine. "We love you!"

The girls made their way carefully through the vent. The noise of the moving students kept them unnoticed. "Turn right," Carrie whispered.

They arrived at the vent of the staffroom where all the teachers were waiting impatiently for Mr. Nowak

"I say this has to be some kind of joke!" they saw a female teacher protested shrilly. "We have no time for dilly-dallying today!"

Right at that moment, the fan turned on and the two girls shivered.

"Here we go," Carrie mouthed. She put the nozzle of the fire hydrant through the gap of the grate and sleeping gas leaked out of it.

They had to stifle their laughter as the teachers dropped off to sleep. "Let's go and tell the others that we're successful," Zarine giggled.

The short girls crawled back to where Kai was waiting for them. When Kai saw there smiles, he knew instantly that they were successful.

"Let's go to where we're supposed to meet the others," he said quietly.

They met up with the others and put on black suits in the bathroom.

"I bet the students are all cheering since all the teachers are at this 'meeting'," Jewels laughed.

They sneaked to the staffroom. Jewels opened the door to check if any of the teachers were still awake. When she didn't return, the others went to see what was going on. They saw her lying on the floor, on top of the French substitute.

Carrie realized her mistake. "Crap! I forgot to get the fire hydrant out of there. Everyone hold your breath!"

"I'm feeling a little drowsy already," Zarine told them. "I'm getting out of here."

They all did the same, except Kai. He wasn't going to leave Jewels there. He took a deep breath before plunging in the midst of the sleeping gas, with one hand on his nose. Using only his right hand, he slung the tall red head over his shoulders.

"I guess that plan is my first failure," Carrie sighed in the washroom where the girls were getting changed back into their normal clothes.

Zarine splashed some water on her face to make the sleepiness go away. "Oh well, at least they're all asleep. We don't have to listen to their boring lectures about behaving in the summer."

At last when it was lunch time, the teachers began to stir. "What happened?" one of them asked groggily.

"I don't know," another answered. "I just know I have a huge headache."

The principal suggested, "Since we're all a mess, why don't we dismiss the students early? Miss Brown, please go and give the students their report cards."

The students cheered when they heard that school was over three hours earlier than planned. "I think we're their heroes," Tyson exclaimed. "Yo, pe – OW!"

"You aren't supposed to give us away! I better go and tell someone about Mr. Nowak being gone, or else I'm going to look very suspicious," Hilary said. "I'll see you later!"

Zarine was putting all of her school things into her backpack when someone wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the neck. She stiffened, thinking that it might had been Leo again. She relaxed when she heard Ray's voice, "Ready to go?"

She turned around and smiled at him. "Yeah, just as soon as you let go of me so I can bend down and put my binder into my backpack."

He released his hold on her. "It's so heavy," she said, groaning with the effort to slang her bag onto her shoulders.

"I'll carry it," he offered.

"But you already got yours to carry. I can do it," she insisted stubbornly.

"If you say so," he said. Looking at her hair, he admired how it was shinning. Recently, he had the desire to brush it for her, but he hadn't plucked up his courage to do it yet.

'I think I'm obsessed over her,' he said to Driger. 'I can't stop thinking about her, ever.'

Driger said, 'It's okay to think about her, you love her so much. But I do wish that you would stop staring at her like a girl is an alien thing to you.'

'I do not stare at her like that!' the Chinese boy denied, his face flaming. He still couldn't get over how he got such a beautiful girl for a girlfriend after dating her for six weeks. Sometimes, he would find himself just watching her, thinking about how gorgeous she was.

'Oh, I thought that was what you were doing just now,' his bit-beast said.

"Hey, Carrie!" Zarine said. "So you got your report card?"

Carrie nodded and said, "Yep, I did pretty well I suppose. No where near Jewels' high marks though. I bet she got straight A's, like always."

"Well, I can't wait to get mine. I bet I failed Math," Zarine said gloomily. "I'm so bad at it."

Carrie assured her friend, "Don't worry, if Tyson didn't fail it, I bet you didn't either. Can you believe he actually got a B on it?" She turned to Ray and questioned, "Why aren't you contributing something to this conversation?"

"Huh?" Ray asked in confusion. "Sorry, I was talking to Driger just now."

"Never mind," she sighed. "I'll see you at the party later!" She walked away, thinking of the packing that she still had to do for her vacation.

Zarine and Ray thanked the secretary as she handed them their report cards. Ray looked down at his, and saw that he got three A's and five B's. He glanced down at the petite girl beside him as she sighed.

"I got one A, six B's and a C minus," she told him, scowling at the paper in her hand.

"What did you do so badly on?" he asked before he could stop himself. "I meant..."

"My worst subject, that's what," she answered. "I was expecting a fail anyways, so I guess this is not so bad, but I do wish I got a better mark."

He hugged her and tried to comfort her. "You tried very hard on it, and that's what matters, to me anyways."

Shea and Leo were standing by a row of lockers talking to each other. Other people who were walking by threw them curious glances, but they were all too eager to get out of school to talk to them.

"I don't see why we have to wait so long for the perfect opportunity!" Shea complained. "I want her away from Ray now! Don't you want that little bitch? I thought that's why you wanted to help me."

"I have my own reasons," Leo replied smoothly. "If we don't do this right, they're going to figure it out. They'll hate us and never trust us again, I'm sure."

"Fine," she pouted. "What's the plan?"

As Leo whispered the plan in her ear, her eyes grew gleeful. "You are sure Zarine will hate that, right?" she asked.

Leo nodded. "I'm sure. She told me that herself. We'll put the plan in place when an opportunity presents itself."

* * *

Poll: Em.................let's see...Do you think the story is....

1) Just beginning! I mean, tons of stuff have to happen!

2) It's near the middle. It_ is_ the 28th chapter. (I'm counting the prolog as one)

3) It's gotta be nearly the end by now!

I can't think of anything else better. Lol. I still have stupid writer's block. I swear I'll kill someone if it doesn't disappear soon!


	30. Chapter 28: Family Talk

The answer to the last poll...em...actually, I don't know! Lol. Typical me. I didn't expected it to be around 30 chapters, but I guess I might actually have around 45-50...Anyway, I have no idea, so yeah, don't ask!

Dutchie: Yeah, I do always come up with new things, and that delays the plot...well not delay...it gives me a chance to reflect what the characters are feeling about (cough) certain people. The diary will play a pretty big role in the next story...plus you'll find out what happened to Dawn, so why would I forget such a great idea?

Kanilla: It is so nice to have such a supportive fan like you! Heh.

Raymond: From your review I can just see you as a person who never stops talking...

Clio: Uh...how exactly did I torture you?

Eden: Harsh on Nowak...well I didn't really think of that when I wrote the chapter...but I feel sorry for him. He's old!

Absolute-Darkness: Stop reminding me of Kai/Jewels stuff please. I know my fans love them, and I do try to put some, even if it's a little, in every chapter. I'm sorry if there aren't enough. I mean, this story was meant for Ray/Zarine, but I will put as much Kai/Jewels stuff in as possible.

Chapter Twenty-Nine – Family Talk

Carrie rushed around the house, trying to get everything packed for her one-week trip to England. "You were supposed to be all packed last night," Jewels remarked, watching her sister stuff her underwear into the suitcase.

"I fell asleep, okay? Besides, I'll get it done, I still have a long time," Carrie said distractedly. "Anyway, you're like perfect except for your manners. Why do you always have to have an attitude, anyway?"

Her sister smiled. "I need a trademark. I would rather be known as the Girl Who Have an Attitude than be called, 'one of the twins.' If I don't have an 'attitude' like you say, then you wouldn't be known as the Nice Twin."

"Yeah, thanks," she said with sarcasm and rolled her eyes. "Now get out so I can pack quickly and we can go to Kai's."

"I can't believe Kai let us have a party here," Hilary said to Zarine as they were carrying bowls of chips and candy to a long table. "It's the first time ever."

"I kept on bugging him about it. He got sick and tired of me asking him every time he turned around," Zarine giggled. "It was fun to see him annoyed. Ray's always around so Kai couldn't really do anything to me."

The brunette told her, "Oh, well he doesn't hit girls so you have nothing to worry about."

"I suppose he tells Jewels to do it for him," Zarine said. "Probably," Ray said from behind.

"Hey," Zarine greeted him brightly.

"I don't get why I had to do the decorations," he grumbled. "Why couldn't I take care of the food instead?"

"Quit whining," she told him. "I would help, except I'm too short to hang streamers on the ceiling." She looked at the room. Streamers of every color were hanging from the ceiling, and balloons were attached to the long strings of colors. "You did a good job."

"It better be, it took me hours to do it," he said.

Carrie and Jewels were totally surprised when they saw the dark blue banner with silver words that said, "We'll miss ya lotz, Carrie and Jewels," the moment they walked into the house. "Wow! This is for us?" Carrie exclaimed.

"Let me guess," Jewels said. "Zarine did this, didn't she?"

"Who else have an unhealthy obsession with blue?" Mariam said, rolling her eyes.

Zarine protested, "It's a perfectly good color!"

"Yeah, but you love it too much," Jewels said. "I think you love it more than you love Ray..."

"Of course I don't! I love Ray more than...more than a color," the petite girl said, blushing. Oh my gosh! I was just about to say that I love Ray more than anything! she thought wildly. Do I really? The girls turned to look at Tyson when they heard his voice.

"FOOD!" Tyson yelled joyously before rushing to the table. Bowls of chips, cookies and candy were there, as well as plates of muffins and cupcakes. He immediately began to stuff his face.

"So does anyone want to join me in the pool?" Zarine asked cheerfully, moving onto other subjects.

"You bet!" Carrie answered, while Hilary and Mariam nodded. Jewels smiled at the thought of relieve of the heat. It had been getting hotter as July is nearing.

Max, Kenny, Ray and Kai watched the girls leave. "Why don't we go and join them?" Max suggested.

"Nop thinks," Tyson declined thickly through a mouthful of cake.

Kai threw him a look of deep disgust and wondered, Why did I let him come into my house in the first place?

"No, you're not,' he told Tyson icily. "If you keep on eating, there will be no food left. The girls will probably be very upset with you."

Tyson took a minute to digest Kai's warning. He shuddered at the thought of the females being angry with him. He sighed regretfully, "Maybe you're right."

Kenny followed the others out to the pool. His face flushed a bright red as a certain short redhead came into sight. "Are you guys going to jump in or what?" she demanded.

"Uh sure..." he replied, still blushing furiously.

Tyson nudged him with a smirk. "Can you make it anymore obvious that you like her?"

The brown haired girl, who was close by, heard the comment. She frowned. "What are you talking about, Tyson? Get real, Kenny wouldn't like Carrie. She has a boyfriend."

"Well I say he totally has a thing for her," he said smugly.

Kenny was spared of thinking up something to say when Zarine poured water over Tyson's head. She laughed as Tyson chased her around the pool.

At the moment, the only thing on Tyson's mid was to get revenge on 'the brat.' Not minding how slippery the side of the pool was, he slipped and fell head first into the pool.

Everyone burst into laughter. Zarine jumped in and she was the first thing Tyson saw when his head broke through the surface.

She questioned with mock sympathy, "You alright there?"

"Never been better," he replied with sarcasm. Without warning he forced her head into the water, causing her to swallow a mouthful of water.

"So how are you now?" he asked when he let her breath again.

"Really, really annoyed at you," she answered crossly before jumping onto him.

The others watched them fight with amused smiles. They were all too used to Hilary and Tyson's yelling matches, and Zarine's playful and sometimes physical fights with Tyson.

Mariam was quiet as she watched Tyson and Zarine fight. "What's wrong?" Max questioned.

"I was just wondering if running away was the right thing to do," the emerald eyed girl replied.

He said thoughtfully, "Hmm...well I don't know if it was the right thing, but I suppose it'll give you and your family to think things through. Look at how happy Zarine is, she left her family to be with us."

"That's different though. I left without telling anyone, apart from my team," she sighed.

"Don't worry about it, it'll be fine," he assured, putting his arm around her shoulders.

As the party ended, the twins were saying good bye to the others. "We'll miss you," Hilary said, hugging Carrie.

"Things are sure going to quiet down here without you," said Zarine. She made a face. "Hopefully it wouldn't be too boring."

Then a honk of a car could be heard. "Guess our ride is here," Tyson said. Mrs. Satsuki had volunteered to take everyone home.

Kai realized that he wouldn't be seeing Jewels for a week. Sure he knew that she was going, but it had never really hit him how used to her presence he was. His heart felt empty as he watched the car pull out of his driveway.

"You are really going to miss Jewels, aren't you?" Zarine asked him quietly.

"Aren't you?" he questioned with a smirk.

"Of course! They're my friends...you know what I mean, Kai," she said.

"No, I don't," he told her coldly before pushing her aside to leave. He stopped when he heard her voice.

"I think you do and you should stop denying about your feelings for her," she said just as coldly as he did. "Why are you afraid?"

"I'm not afraid of anything," he said through gritted teeth. He turned around and glared at her. He was a little taken aback when he saw her stare back calmly. If he glared at Tyson like that, he would be looking for the nearest rat hole to hide.

She said softly. "We'll see. It isn't a bad thing to open up to people, you know?"

He ignored her and left. She sighed. 'He'll come around eventually,' Xeora said comfortingly. 'He just needs time.'

'I hope you're right because I'm getting really impatient here. I really want them to get together,' Zarine told her bit-beast.

"Had you talked to Kai about the diary you found yet?" Ray asked later.

Zarine looked down at her feet, her face burning up with shame. She had been putting it off because she was really unwilling to share it with anyone. "No, I haven't."

"Zarine! We talked about this a month ago!" he scolded. "You have to tell him!"

She sighed, "I'll talk to him now if you want me to so badly."

She poked her head back in when she was about to shut the door. "By the way, don't be such a dad! You're my boyfriend, not my father!"

Kai answered the knock on his door with a grumpy, "What do you want?"

Zarine opened the door and told him in a very serious manner, "We really need to talk."

"If this is about Jewels, you can forget about it," he told her, hoping to get rid of her.

She snorted, "Get real, like I would come at midnight to talk to you about her. This is about something else. Really, just admit that you like her, before it turns into a tragic romance or something." 

"I thought this visit wasn't about her," he said, feeling annoyed.

"Oh right. I know I should have told you about this earlier..." she began hesitantly.

"Just go on," he said, gesturing for her to continue impatiently.

"Um...do you remember anything about your parents at all?" Zarine questioned timidly, remembering how irritated he was when she mentioned his grandfather.

He answered, "No, I don't know a thing about them. Does this have anything to do with what you're here to tell me?"

"I found this box on the night table in my room...there's a diary in it and it's about twins sisters named Dawn and Laynie Hiwatari," she said. "There's something else I should tell you too...Ray found a key at the bottom of the box. It's bigger than the average ones."

Kai told her coldly, "I don't know why you told me about this at all."

"Don't you want to find out what happened to your parents?" she asked incredulously.

"Not particularly. I don't know a thing about them. They left me here with Voltaire," Kai said.

Zarine felt quiet anger radiating from him. She said desperately, "What if they didn't leave you? What if they died or something?"

"It's the same either way. I was left at the mercy of my grandfather. He sent me to the abbey and let me, his own grandson, to be tortured like every kid there was. No, it was worse for me because I'm a Hiwatari and I was supposed to be better than everyone else," he said, anguish appeared in his eyes as he opened up more to the girl in front of him. "Why am I telling you? You wouldn't understand."

"WHAT?!" she yelped. "I wouldn't understand? Get this straight in your head! My parents were killed because the Dark Force wanted me more than anything! Do you know how that feels? To have your loved ones killed because you were stupid enough to defy people who were stronger than you no matter what you do? No, I suppose you don't, because you're just an emotionless freak that wouldn't admit that you can love someone!"

"Leave," he said simply, refusing to argue with someone like her. To him, she was just a little kid.

"Kai..." she started to say.

"Leave," he repeated in a firmer tone.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Fine, but you will realize that I am right. I'm always right," she ended with a maddening flair.

Kai scowled at her but couldn't help but feel his anger and irritation lessen.

When she went back to her room, she found that Ray was asleep on the bed. She quickly got changed and got her stuffed tiger before jumping into bed with Ray. She burrowed her way close to him. Studying her boyfriend's face closely, she concluded that he was in a deep sleep. Gently, she shifted his arm so that it was around her waist instead of by his side.

"What are you doing?" he chuckled.

Zarine blushed furiously when she heard his voice. Oh my god. Oh my god. He was awake??? she thought. "Nothing..." she answered innocently.

"Do you know how cute you are?" he teased, hoping to embarrass her more. She was adorable when she blushed.

"Of course! And you better know it too," she said.

"I'm going out," Ray told Zarine, three afternoons after the party.

"Ooh, can I come?" she asked brightly and looked at him with puppy eyes. "Please?"

Why does she have to be so damn cute? he wondered. "I'm sorry, but you can't...it's...I can't tell you what it is, but you'll find out soon, okay?" he told her awkwardly.

She pouted, "Alright. You have to tell me very soon though."

He kissed her lightly on the lips. "I promise."

"So you're sure you're willing to pay for whatever we decide on?" Ray asked Kai downstairs.

"Yeah, I got too much money on my hands. I told you this already," Kai answered.

They left the house and walked into the bright sunshine.

They met Hilary, Tyson, Kenny, Max and Mariam at the mall. "Let's get this party started!" Hilary exclaimed eagerly.

"I'm so pumped to be doing this for Zarine," Max said. "I think it'll be a great present for her birthday and I bet she would love it."

(I know...another surprise...but surprises make things interesting!)

Zarine sighed as she hung up the phone. Everyone had gone out to somewhere, and she was all alone in the house. She wondered what they were doing. Her eyes filled with disappointment. It was summer, she want to hang out with her friends and not be alone.

Suddenly the phone rang and scared her. "Hello?" she said, trying to breathe deeply to return her heart rate back to normal.

"Hey, beautiful. Are you busy today?" Leo asked. "I thought maybe we could watch a movie together or something."

"Um...I don't really feel like watching a movie," she lied. The truth was, she didn't feel comfortable with him to sit in a theater together. What if he tried to hit on her again? "Maybe we can do something else..."

He sensed the awkwardness in her answer. "We can just get a drink or something. I just want to hang out. Let's go get some ice cream."

"Sure!" she responded enthusiastically. "That would be awesome!"

Leo almost laughed in spite of himself. She sounded so much like a kid. "Let's meet at the ice cream parlor then. I would come and get you, but Ray doesn't like me, so I think it's best if I don't see him."

"Oh, Ray's not here right now. He went out with Kai a while ago," she told him. "You can come if you like, maybe we can swim in the pool?"

He declined, "Nah, your boyfriend wouldn't like it if he sees me at the place that he lives. I have a pool here at my place. You should come over."

"Of course, as long as it's after my ice cream," she said, looking at the portrait above the door.

"I'll see you soon then," he said before hanging up. He congratulated himself for luring Zarine out so easily. Hopefully, Shea wouldn't have too much trouble with Ray.

After they finished the ice cream, they decided to walk through the park because Zarine felt like going onto the playground there. They were strolling down a path when...out of instinct, Zarine turned her head to the right. What she saw shocked her very existence.

Ray and Shea were kissing. They had their arms around each other...and the worst thing was, he wasn't pushing her away or anything.

Tears poured out of her eyes rapidly as the sight tore her heart apart. What did she do wrong? Why was he cheating on her? Was this the 'surprise' that he was talking about? Replacing her with someone else? How long had they been going out behind her back? Hundreds of questions popped up in her head.

Leo couldn't help but feel sympathetic for Zarine. He saw the shock and hurt and confusion on her face. He turned her to face him and hugged her. Slowly, he leaned down to kiss her. She was in so much shock, she didn't even care.

Ray pulled away breathlessly, recovering from the surprise. He looked ahead and saw Leo hugging Zarine. Wondering what was going on, he walked towards them. When he saw Leo was going to kiss Zarine, he lost it.

Leo's lips barely brushed against Zarine's before he was jerked away. A punch landed on his eye, causing him to fall backwards on his bottom.

"You bastard," Ray hissed, glaring at his enemy on the ground.

Teenagers were looking at them with interest, while parents of toddlers were covering their children's eyes, or hurrying them away. He heard people say something like, "Call the police," or "Kids these days."

The small girl planted herself in front of Ray, beside herself with anger. She slapped him across his face as hard as she could and yelled, "What right do you have to punch him when you were...kissing...that slut?!" She pointed to the blonde who was watching this with a neutral expression on her face. In truth, Shea was jumping with joy inside.

Ray touched his stinging cheek gingerly. Did she just slap him? He couldn't believe that she would do that considering how much she dislike violence. I've never seen her so mad...since she found out that her brother got brainwashed. he thought sadly.

Zarine dropped down onto the ground beside Leo. "Are you alright?" she asked with concern.

"Wait, Zarine! I can explain, please!" the Chinese boy said desperately.

She helped Leo off the ground. Her eyes were cold and angry when she looked at her boyfriend, and her hands were clenched into fists. "There's nothing to explain! I saw what happened with my own eyes!" she said, her voice shaking slightly.

"Shea...she..." he had barely began before Zarine cut him off again.

"No, just shut up! Go away!" she cried, covering her ears. "I don't want to listen to you! We are over, Ray, you hear that? We are over! I don't want to be with someone who can't even be honest with their feelings for me!" 

Guess what?! I don't have writer's block anymore. Yay! Hm...poll........lemme see...

Okay here we go...

Do you think I'm evil?

Of course. I mean, what's with all the cliffies and surprises?

No, everyone's like that...it's only human to have urges to torture others.

No opinion.

My comp is screwed right now...so I'll update as soon as possible! Hopefully that's soon!


	31. Chapter 29: The Kiss

Clio: Hehe...well I'm in school now and enduring torture day after day like everyone else!

Queen of Fantasy: Lol, it would be funny seeing Shea's mangled remains daggling somewhere...

Kanilla: Is there any way that I can corrupt you into being evil?

Ray-is-sexy: I totally agree with your name!!! Haha. All will be revealed soon...next chapter, I swear...I'm not that evil!

Crimson Cheetah: Zarine did have a good reason to slap Ray...I mean, what would you do if you see your boyfriend kiss another girl? I would just beat him up because I will be so angry.

Crimson Shadows: It's not exactly a love triangle...

Obs3ssi0n: I think that Stupid Shit Head Eating Apples and Loser Eating Oranges are great names for our dear villains.

Chapter Twenty-Nine – The Kiss

Ray's POV

I caught my breath sharply. My mind was screaming, "NO!" She couldn't be leaving me! I just couldn't lose her! I just couldn't! She's everything...

She turned to leave, but I grabbed her arm quickly to stop her. "No, Zarine! Please don't!" I begged. She had to let me explain! It wasn't what it looked like!

"Let me go," she demanded. I refused to let her leave. I couldn't lose her to that jerk. He didn't love her like I did. All he wanted was to take advantage of her! She said to Leo, "Leo, please make him go away."

"You heard what she said," he said roughly, prying my fingers away.

I watched helplessly as they walked away. Leo put his arm around her shoulder (more like her head because she's so short) and smirked at me triumphantly when he gazed back at me.

The people who were watching us left one by one, buzzing with chatter as they went on with their own lives. I hardly noticed them. All I could think about was the gaping hole where Zarine used to be. She left me...somehow...somehow I had to get her to listen to me and believe that Shea had kissed me.

Shea walked up to me and said, "Aw...baby, does it hurt?" She reached out her hand to touch the bright red mark on my cheek, but I stepped away from her.

"This wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for you!" I said, my hands clenched into fists. If Shea hadn't kissed me, Leo...Leo wouldn't have managed to steal Zarine away.

"If you didn't like it, you could've pushed me away, but you didn't," she said calmly.

I had to keep a tight rein on my temper. "You know that Zarine and I are...were...together, you don't go around kissing guys who have a girlfriend. It's not right."

"It doesn't look like that rule applies to you anymore," she responded archly, laying a hand on my arm.

I didn't bother to answer her and left in disgust. Why, why didn't I listen to Zarine about Shea? I began to blame myself for this. Why didn't I stop associating with that blonde when I knew that Zarine didn't like her? Why did he follow her in the first place? He was supposes to be with the others, picking out the present for her upcoming birthday.

I didn't know where I was going until I saw the sea. Right, I had come here with Zarine once to show her the beautiful sun rise. I started walking down the stairs, having nothing better to do. I sighed heavily as I sat down on the bench. I wish...I wish Zarine was here, and that nothing had happened.

I wouldn't be in this mess if I had stayed away from Shea in the first place. It was because of her that I had stopped talking to my girlfriend, I mean, ex-girlfriend, for a week...it was because of her that I had a fight with Zarine and made her upset...it was because of her that I had lost the dearest person to me. I could live without Shea, but I could never live without Zarine.

I stared blankly out into the deep blue of the ocean, wondering what to do. That's it, when I get back to Kai's house, I'm going to apologize, explain, and tell her how much I loved her. However, it was less simple than I thought.

Zarine's POV

I sobbed my heart out on Leo's shoulder as we got out of sight. How could Ray do this? I thought he loved me...he said he did...he acted like he cared...but did he really? Or was he just pretending to love me for who I am instead of my looks?

"Zarine, if he cheated on such a great person like you...he isn't worth your tears," Leo said, rubbing my back to comfort me.

"You don't get it...he saved my life once...and he promised me that he wouldn't leave me..." I wept. No one was going to understand why he was so important to me.

My friend said fiercely, "If he had made such a promise to you, he should keep it."

"Thanks, but there's nothing I can do about it now...he...he's not mine to keep anymore," I said softly. It was true, his heart didn't belong to me. It probably was never mine.

"Can I stay with you for the rest of the day?" I asked hopefully. I couldn't face Ray yet. I knew that as soon as I see him, I'll start bawling.

"Sure," he answered happily. "I love being with you."

I smiled and dried my tears with the back of my hand. "Thanks," I said, squeezing his hand gratefully.

I ended up staying at his house for dinner and into the night. His house was luxurious, but not as big as Kai's mansion. His parents were really nice to me too. "I'll take you home," Leo offered. "It's not safe for you to walk back alone."

"I hope that you know how to drive a car," I said.

"Leo's got his license two weeks ago," his dad said proudly. "He got 90 on it. I would trust him to take you home safely."

"Dad had promised to buy me a new car as soon as I can choose between the ten cars that I have in mind," Leo told me. "But until then, I'll use his extra car."

"Thanks for dinner and letting me stay," I said, hugging Leo's mom.

"You're welcome, dear. Come back anytime," she said kindly.

Normal POV

Leo could barely hold back a snort when he thought of how his father thought he would drive safely just because he got a high score on his driving test. There was no way that he was going to do that, at least not when he was out with his friends.

Zarine was really quiet in the car. Leo couldn't help glancing at her and admiring how good she always looked. He had already managed to break Ray away from her. He just had to get her to like and trust him enough to go out with him.

He parked by the sidewalk in front of Kai's enormous house. Zarine looked at Leo and found him looking at her strangely. "Leo, what's the matter?" she questioned.

He didn't answer, but leaned forward to kiss her. She didn't pull back when she felt his lips on hers. In fact, she returned the kiss passionately.

"I should go," she stammered after he broke off the kiss. "Thanks!"

He felt a little disappointed when she didn't stay. He had hoped that it might have turned into a great make out. He smirked nevertheless as he watched her talk into the speaker, asking the butler to let her in. _God, that girl is so damn hot_, he thought to himself smugly, _not to mention a great kisser._

Zarine could barely stop her heart from racing. _What happened in there?_ she thought in confusion, _Why did I even kiss him like that? I don't like him that way...he's just a friend..._

Ray had been looking out his window when the kiss happened in the car. The Mercedes was right under a street lamp, so he had seen everything. _She's already kissing other guys when she just broke up with me? _he pondered. _Why was she with him today?_

"Where have you been?" Kai demanded when she opened the front door.

"No where," the petite girl answered wearily. Great, now she's going to have to get rid of Kai before she could have some time to herself to think about what happened during the day.

"You know I'm not going to let you off the hook with that answer," he told her bluntly. "Now tell the truth."

"Fine, I went out with Leo," she replied.

"The whole day?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

She shrugged. "So? What's the problem with it?"

"Nothing, but Ray's not going to be happy when he hears about it," he remarked.

She responded coldly, "I don't care about what he thinks anymore." And before Kai had a chance to question her farther on her crappy day, she had reached the second floor and disappeared out of sight.

Ray was standing in front of the door to her room, blocking her way. "Move," she barked. She felt so angry just to be around him. When Ray saw her hand reaching for the door knob, he covered it to stop her.

"Not until you explain," he responded. "I will let you go in afterwards."

"What?! You're the one that's have something to clarify for me! Now go away!" she snapped, trying to pry his hand away.

"Why were you kissing Leo?" he questioned sadly. "Are you forgetting about me already?"

She stared at him. Forgetting about him? As if! She wanted to forget him, but he had been on her mind the whole day! She didn't have one minute that she had stopped thinking, and wondering...except for the couple of minutes when she was kissing Leo. She couldn't even remember clearly what was going on then.

"Oh? And since when had you remembered me? You had been cheating on me! Did you remember that there's someone who loves you more than anything when you had little make out sessions with her?" she said, tears blurring her vision.

"Zarine..." he whispered. "I...love..."

"No you don't!" she yelled. "Stop saying that you love me when you don't! You can't love me that much if you go around and kiss other girls!"

"But –" he protested.

"What's going on?" Kai questioned. He had been bothered by what Zarine had said to him earlier, about not caring what Ray thought of her anymore.

"Kai!" the silver haired girl cried, flinging her arms around him. "Make Ray leave! He wouldn't leave me alone."

The Chinese boy felt so hurt by her words. Zarine wanted him to leave her...He couldn't process the information correctly. He felt like knives were sticking themselves into his heart.

"Why don't you go and get ready for bed? I'll come and talk to you in a few minutes," Kai said, in a surprisingly gentle voice. He glanced at Ray and Ray stepped away from the door without a word.

"What's going on here?" the Russian demanded after Zarine had gone into her room. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Ray protested. "Shea kissed me and Zarine saw us...she thought that I was cheating on her and refused to let me explain!"

"Wait, where did this happen?" Kai asked.

"In the park. She was with Leo and...that jerk was going to kiss her! I jerked him away from Zarine and punched him. She got so mad at me and slapped me really hard," Ray explained desperately. "She also told me that everything between us is over."

"Calm down," Kai told him. "So now she thinks that you were cheating on her with Shea and she wouldn't listen to anything that you say?"

The black haired boy nodded miserably and sighed. "I saw her kissing Leo in the car when he drove her home," he told Kai quietly.

"Okay, let me talk to her," said Kai before going into Zarine's room to talk to her.

Zarine wiped tears off her face when she saw Kai. He sat down on her bed and made her sit in his lap. "So...why wouldn't let Ray explain to you his version of what happened today in the park?" he asked.

"I don't know...I need to think about what happened today, and I don't want his explanation to complicate things. How do I know if he's telling me the truth?" she asked. "I don't want to go through all that again if I see him cheating again..."

"But he loves you...you know that," he said.

"I'm not sure about that anymore...what if he was just pretending?" she questioned.

He sighed, "Do you think he would have risked his life for you if he didn't love you?"

"I just need time to think about this..." she said.

"Sure, but don't take too long," Kai told her. "Ray...he might not be around by the time you figure things out. It's none of my business but I think it's a mistake for you to break up with him."

Zarine stayed silent. She didn't want to break up with Ray...but he...he had _betrayed_ her. "Think about it, don't you want to be with him again?" he asked.

"I'll sleep on it," she grumbled. There was too much information to process and she was too tired. She got up and yawned widely. "Good night."

"Alright," he said, also getting up. "Think about what we talked about."

Ray was jumping with impatience by the time Kai came out. "Well?" he demanded.

"Give her some time to calm down. She says she'll hear you out when she's ready," Kai answered.

"And when is that?" Ray asked. 

"Who knows?" shrugged Kai. "I don't think it'll take her too long to come around."

* * *

Sorry if you guys were looking forward to them making up with each other...it'll happen soon, I promise!! But I can't guarantee that it'll happen by the next chapter.


	32. Chapter 30: Lies

Crimson Shadows: Lol, no worries! I guess it sort of is a love triangle, but come on! This is what the whole...ok, maybe not the whole, but half the story is about. Leo and Shea are jealous of Ray and Zarine!

Ruby-Jaganshi-2040: I don't think Ray liked how Leo kissed Zarine either!

Clio: Inspirations?? Well I get them from...my brain. I am so good at this because I'm a genius!!! Lol, I was just kidding. I really need to work on checking my chapters...Okay, in the next one, I'll be able to look at you in the face and say that I went over it carefully before uploading it!

Kanilla: :) Hm...well it makes you sad that they fight? Haha, the worst has yet to come! That's all I'm saying.

T.k-Kon: Well, what's a story without some evil stuff from the author?

Songo's 1st fan: I'm sorry I made you cry! Wait, I thought Zarine was the one who's supposed to do that!

Queen of Fantasy: --0 I couldn't think up of anything for a poll!

Anime-girl412: Do not fear, my child...All will be revealed...soon! By the way, I told people that they'll make up soon because if I don't, everyone's brain cells will die. My friends told me that curiosity kills brain cells, I'm not sure if it's true, but it's better not to kill innocent people because I didn't tell them if Ray and Zarine will make up or not.

Eden: What would you have done if you were in Zarine's place? Killed Shea on the spot?

Bloody-Shadows: Find out if I use your song by reading this! I apologize for disappointments...if I don't use it and thank you for it if I do use it!

Me: I know that it was out of character for Kai to comfort Zarine like that in the last chapter...

Zarine: He did that because he loves me so much!

Tyson: Stop thinking that you are universally loved! I think Kai's just going soft...

Me: It was important that he did though...

Ray: There she goes again...more cryptic messages...

Me: Do you want to do this? It's not exactly easy...

Ray: I'll do anything as long as you get Zarine to listen to me!

Me: (pats Ray on the head) Don't worry, my love, you'll make up soon enough!

* * *

Chapter Thirty – Lies

Zarine fell asleep and found herself sitting on a big rock by a stony brook. She instantly knew that Xeora had sent her there. She enjoyed the silence except for the chirpings of the birds and the sound of the flowing water immensely. Zarine looked beside her and saw Xeora's figure materialize slowly beside her.

Xeora didn't say anything, but wrapped Zarine in a tight embrace. They stayed quiet for a few moments before she asked, "So how do you feel?"

"I don't know," Zarine sighed. "I'm just so confused." Her bit beast nodded gravely. The silver haired girl leaned on Xeora, feeling her bit beast's love for her flow through her veins. She smiled, glad that Xeora was there for her. Suddenly, she missed her mother so much. Her mom would know what she should do and give her great advice._ But I got her and Daddy killed, _she thought miserably, guilt pouring into her heart.

"Hmm...I don't know if I can trust him again...ever," Zarine answered finally. A tear fell out of her eye. "I mean, you know what happened with other guys, I told you all about them. I love him so much, but I don't know if I can..."

Her bit beast stayed silent and listened to her. Zarine sobbed, "I don't know if I can keep him. I...I don't make him laugh like Shea does...I...Sometimes I feel so...uncomfortable, no, just shy, around him, but we're supposed to be going out. I am, was, supposed to be telling him everything."

Xeora stroked Zarine's hair. "He loves you. He will understand that maybe you can't move forward with your relationship as fast as he wants."

"If I tell him that he'll leave me! He wants me to be like everyone else and not be paranoid like I am now."

"No," the wise ancient spirit told her. "He wants you to be you. You aren't paranoid either. It's perfectly understandable. You had some bad experiences with relationships. Just talk to him, and if he's not considerate enough to understand your needs, I wouldn't let you go near him."

She kissed the petite girl in her arms on the forehead gently. "You can work it out. I have complete faith that you will handle it fine. I have to go now, but I'll talk to you again in a couple of days."

She stood up and walked through the long grass. Zarine watched her slowly fade from view. She wished that she was as confident in herself as Xeora was in her. When her bit beast disappeared from view, she cleared her mind and concentrated on leaving. Slowly, she drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

Ray's POV

I tossed and turned in my bed. I couldn't get comfortable and fall asleep for some reason, no matter how hard I tried. Then it hit me, Zarine wasn't sleeping beside me in my arms. I grunted as I got out of bed. I needed to see her, to touch her face, just anything to be close to her.

Quietly, I opened the door to her room. I looked at her small face and felt my heart fill with love. I kneeled down and touched her face gently. Why? Why did she end it with me just like that? She didn't want my explanation, but why not? Didn't she love him? She should be more reasonable! I am always there for her...why couldn't she give me ten minutes? I tried to think of a time when she had been there for I instead of the other way around...but I couldn't think of any and began to feel a little angry. Okay, maybe more than a little, maybe really mad.

_Good riddance_, I thought. _I don't want someone like that._

But my dreams that night was troubled and filled with thoughts of the girl I loved.

Dream

I saw Zarine sitting in a tree somewhere in a meadow. My heart immediately filled with happiness. Her long silvery hair blew in the wind, making me ache to touch it, but I had to get closer to her first...

"Zarine!" I called.

Her attention was drawn to me at once. She looked a bit worried as I walked towards her.

"Why are you here?" she asked, her voice barely audible.

"Please come down here. I want to talk to you," he said.

She nodded and jumped down from the branch. When she landed, she lost her balance and fell into me. I help her in my arms and lifted her chin up to gaze into her eyes.

"I'm sorry," I said. I didn't even know what I was apologizing for, but what the heck. I brought my head down to kiss her. She returned my kiss eagerly, but caressed my back rather than the back of my neck like she normally did.

I brushed a strand of hair away from her face and whispered into her ear, "I love you."

She smiled at me, and started kissing me. Something was wrong but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then I noticed the absence of the scent of her hair.

I pulled away and eyed her suspiciously. Zarine's hair always smelled like flowers, no matter what kind of shampoo she used. How could I have been so dumb and not notice it?

"You're not her," I said.

Shea suddenly stood in Zarine's place. "You're right. I am not that bitch. She's over there." She pointed to a place about ten feet away where Zarine looked at me with such pain, I felt it as if it was my own.

I advanced towards her." Zarine! I didn't mean to! I...I..."

Tears dropped out of her eyes. "Yes, you did. You said that you love her. I heard you!"

"I thought it was you! I swear, I thought I saw you there! Please believe me!" I begged.

A new voice sneered. "How is that possible?" I glanced at the new speaker. It was Leo. I began to panic. Leo was going to take Zarine away a second time!

"Good bye, Ray. I'm with Leo now...at least...at least he wouldn't do something like this to me," she told me sadly before taking his hand. They walked away and disappeared

"Zarine!" I shouted. I had to get her back, I had to! "Come back!"

End of dream

I woke up abruptly and swore. I wasn't supposed to be dreaming about her. I wanted to be free of her. I knew that wasn't true deep in my heart, though.

Oh god, what am I saying? She had always been there for me. She didn't complain when I was friends with Shea like others would...And she understood that I had to do things without her once in a while...Sure she could act a bit spoiled at times, but it was just a game...I seriously needed more sleep, my mind was all confused and overwhelmed by everything.

* * *

Normal POV

The next morning, when Kai had told the others about Ray and Zarine's breakup, they all exclaimed in unison, "What?! They broke up?"

Zarine and Ray both woke up late that sunny day since they didn't sleep very well the previous night. They met in the hallway, and stopped beside each other, just staring. Ray didn't say a word to the small girl, but kissed her on the cheek before leaving.

She watched him leave. She had to talk to him, but she didn't have enough courage to. "Ray," she whispered. _Oh why? Why do I have to be so pathetic? _she wondered.

Feeling moody, she got herself a huge bowl of cookie dough ice cream before curling up on the loveseat with a book. 'Yummy,' was the only thing going through her mind until...

"You know that's not very healthy," Tyson's voice said from behind.

"What do you know about being healthy? You gobble up everything in sight!" she responded with a grin.

"So what's up, kiddo?" he asked, sitting himself beside her.

"I'm not a kid! I'm nearly fifteen!" she protested.

"Key word there, nearly," he said, smiling. "By the way, can I have some?"

"Nope," she answered. "You probably had ten courses before you came. Why did you come anyway?"

"What? You don't want my company?" he asked, pretending to be hurt by the question.

Zarine replied quickly, "No of course not! You know that I love you!"

"That's very nice, but don't you think you used that word a little too freely there? Aren't you supposed to only say that to one person?"

"Nope. There're many different kinds of love. Why would it be bad if I say I love you to someone else other than Ray?" she said absently before realizing that she said she loved Ray. Then a thought came to her. She narrowed her eyes at the navy haired boy. "Wait a minute...don't tell me that you the person the others chose to speak to me about Ray."

Tyson sweat dropped, and tried to come up with a lie. "Heh...well...Actually I came because I'm your friend and I wanted to see you."

"Nice try," she remarked. "You're not a good liar. Tell the people who have sent you that I don't need or want help, or any nudges in the right direction. I'm not a baby and I know what I'm doing. That's it, you better go pass the message along."

Fifteen minutes later, Tyson had told the others 'the message.' "What?" Hilary exclaimed. "She doesn't want our help? What if that blonde gets Ray? What will she do then?"

"Geez, you guys really have to work on your relationship with her," Mariam said in an offhand manner. "She's old enough to know what to do. She might act a like a little kid sometimes but that doesn't mean she can't handle things."

"But what about our surprise for her? Ray's supposed to be here...if he's even going to continue doing it..." Kenny said uncertainly, looking at Kai, who apparently, had almost all the answers.

"Did someone say my name?" Ray asked, walking into the yard.

"Finally you show up," Tyson said in relieve. "You better make up with Zarine soon. She's not that fun when she's pensive."

"Do you even know what pensive means?" Max asked. He was on a sugar high since he ate lots of brownies for breakfast. "Haha, I bet you don't! It means stupid!"

"No, it doesn't! It means that a person is deep in thought," Tyson argued.

"Oh, really! Haha! That's so funny!!" Max laughed and ran off in search of candy.

Mariam sighed, "Well I better go and calm him down."

"How? Making out with him?" Tyson snickered, earning himself a whack on the head. "OW!"

"Work on your people skills please," Hilary sighed. "It'll save us a lot of pain."

Later that day...

Ray was walking aimlessly around town, trying to figure out how to get Zarine back. It was summer and he could see couples every where. The sight made him feel very miserable.

"Ray!" a girly voice called joyfully.

He turned around and saw Shea running towards him.

"What do you want?" he snapped at her.

The blonde blinked. "Ray!" she whined. "Why are you mad at me?"

Ray couldn't believe his ears. She was asking him _why_ he was mad??? "Maybe it's because you made me lose my girlfriend," he answered icily before turning to leave.

She clung onto his arm. "You're better off without her anyway," she told him.

"You don't understand!" he roared at her, his blood boiling. "I don't want to see you, so just go away!"

Passers were eyeing them with interest, some looked shocked. "But, Ray..." Shea protested. In a desperate attempt to keep him from leaving, she yelled, "So you're going to leave? After what we've done?" She pretended to cry and buried her face in her hands.

"We've done nothing!" the black haired boy said angrily.

Guys who had been looking at Shea with interest stepped in. "Hey, why are you yelling at her like that?" one of them demanded, poking him in the ribs.

"What had he done?" another asked her.

Shea faked huge sobs and made her voice sound heartbroken. "It's too shameful to say...I can't believe I went out with him in the first place."

There were a group of people surrounding them by that time, and watching them breathlessly. "What?! We never went out! I...I had another girlfriend!" he said, not realizing that he was digging himself deeper into the hole.

"So you finally admit it? That you were cheating on me?" Shea scream triumphantly.

"You cheated on her?" one of the guys barked. "Well, did you?"

"Stay out of this!" Kai told him roughly, shoving people out of the way to get to the center of the circle.

Girls were ahhhhhing and oooooing at the sight of the captain of the Bladebreakers. "KAI, I LOVE YOU!" girls called out. "YOU'RE THE HOTTEST DUDE EVER!!"

Kai's eye twitched dangerously when he heard that but chose to ignore them.

"Shea, you disgust me," Kai said coldly. "Ray had never gone out with you nor did anything with you. Give up on him, he doesn't like you and if he ever does, I'll be very surprised."

The spectators were booing at the blonde now and the guys who had defended Shea asked her, "Is this true?'

"He...he slept with me!" she cried, wringing her hands. "And he also got me pregnant!"

There was a very shocked silence as the crowd heard Shea's last sentence. "Don't be so ridiculous, a simple pregnancy test will tell us the truth so just pack up your act right now," a new voice sneered.

Everyone turned to look at her, it was Jewels.

* * *

Lol! So what do you think? I think that the ending was great! Hehe, review!!


	33. Chapter 31: If I Can't Have You

Sorry this took so long!! But I really wanted to...eh, you'll find out! This is really long, so don't get angry. 

Chapter Thirty-One – If I Can't Have You

Shea gasped as she looked at Jewels. She hadn't expected one of the girls from the group to pop up. Ray looked as astonished as she was with his mouth hanging open.

Jewels smirked at the mildly surprised expression on Kai's face, knowing that she had probably caught him completely off guard. "So do you still want to continue yelling your bullshit? I suggest that you stop to save your mental...and physical state," she drawled.

The blonde was shocked even more by what Jewels was saying. "Excuse me, are you calling me a liar?" she demanded, hoping to save her face.

Jewels slapped her across the face. "Your whole existence is a just a sorry excuse for me," she told her calmly.

"You..." Shea was shaking with fury, she couldn't even finish her sentence.

"Get out of here," Kai barked at her. "Or do you want me to set Jewels loose on you?"

"You do know how sharp my nails are, right? If I accidentally ruin your face, I'm really sorry," Jewels told her.

Shea looked at the legendary 'Wonder Couple' with fear. She had heard awful stories about Kai and Jewels. Deciding that she valued her life more than her pride, she took off and the crowd booed her all the way.

Jewels burst out laughing. "Haha!! I haven't had that much satisfaction for a long time! That was great, partner!"

"Not too bad yourself," Kai responded, wondering why she was there. She was supposed to be in England for four more days!

She cast a look at him and Ray. "I suppose you're wondering why I'm here," she said. She couldn't help but smirk smugly. "I got bored of England so I decided to come back here." She shrugged. "I was never a great person on family vacation."

"I should've seen this one coming," Kai muttered to himself.

They started walking along the street. People shuffled out of the way for them when they saw Kai and Jewels. Apparently, they had also heard horror stories about the two of them.

"So what's the deal here? Why was that lump of worthless dirt shrieking her head off back there?" she asked curiously.

The guys didn't answer her. She peered at them, trying to figure out the situation here by their facial expressions. Ray looked sad, and angry...and Kai looked...troubled. It was the only word that Jewels could think of._ It must be something big,_ she thought. _Kai never look like this._

"Spill it," she ordered impatiently. "Everyone probably knows, so why shouldn't I know?"

Kai sighed. "Zarine broke up with Ray."

"What?!" she exclaimed. Turning her violet eyes on Ray, she demanded, "What did you do_ this_ time?"

The black haired boy snapped. "I didn't do anything! This isn't my fault, you know! Stop thinking that everything that makes Zarine upset is what I do! She...forget it!" He shook his head. "It was my fault."

"First of all, what happened?" asked Jewels.

"Shea kissed me and Zarine saw us," he answered shortly. "I'm going home."

"Grouchy old bear," she muttered under her breath.

* * *

"Oh, you're just in time for dinner," the chef said when Zarine and Kai walked in.

The petite girl smiled, "Ooo, great! I'm starving." She walked to her place at the table and saw something that wasn't supposed to be there beside her plate.

Frowning slightly, she picked up the rose garland from the table.

Someone took it out of her hands gently. She turned her eyes onto the person behind her. It was Ray.

Ray felt butterflies in his stomach as his dark eyes met her puzzled light green ones. "Uh...I made this for you. I hope you'll like it," he said awkwardly before putting it on her head gently.

Zarine caught sight of his hand and the numerous cuts and scratches on them. Swiftly, she grabbed his hand and demanded, "What the hell are these?" She ran her fingers over a particularly deep cut that ran from his ring finger to a centimeter above his wrist. His palm was tingling from her light and careful touch. It was all he could do to not shiver.

"Look at this! It's still bleeding!' she said, glaring at him accusingly as if it was his fault that blood still oozed out of his wound.

"You are coming with me!" she ordered.

He followed her out of the dining room without a word. She led him to a bathroom and got out some first aid stuff. Ray watched her frown and she looked really attentive as she was cleaning the cuts.

"So how did you get them?' she asked finally.

He answered, "It was from the thorns of the roses. I had to get them off from the stem. I didn't want them to hurt you."

She paused and looked at him. "You shouldn't have. I mean, all these cuts for a rose garland for me? It's not worth it."

"It is. I would do anything for you," he told her. Her eyes wavered for a moment and slowly changed to a soft blue. Turning her attention back onto her job, she searched for some bandages.

He protested, "Zarine! It's not that bad! I don't need..."

"Shut up! If you want to get your cut infected, I can have it arranged!" she snapped. She didn't like the fact that Ray got hurt because of her. Oh no, not at all. She wrapped his hand carefully to prevent hurting him more.

He touched the strands of hair that escaped from the back of her ear. "This is why I love you so much, you always care."

Zarine stayed quiet. She didn't know what to say. Quickly, she put everything away. "We should go back now. Kai is probably getting impatient."

Ray turned off the light in the bathroom before closing the door. "Zarine...will you let me explain...please?" he asked hopefully. She had seemed genuinely upset that he cut himself.

She nodded gravely. "Not now...we have dinner."

The meal was a quiet affair. "Did you know that Jewels is back?" Kai asked Zarine quite happily.

"Really?" she exclaimed. "Why didn't she come? What is she doing here? Wasn't she supposed to be in England?" She glanced up from her pork to look at him.

"She said she got bored of it," he answered.

She laughed. "We should have thought of it."

Kai could barely keep from smiling. He was so glad that Jewels came back. _What the hell?_ He thought. _Why am I so happy?_ He had missed her and thought about her a lot while she was gone, but...what was it about her that made him so much more comfortable around her than with other people?

I should go see Jewels after dinner, Zarine decided, forgetting about the conversation that she was going to have with Ray.

As soon as she had shoved the last bit of mashed potatoes into her mouth, she jumped up and told Kai and Ray, "I'm going to see Jewels!"

The Chinese boy stared after her with disappointment. He should have known better. She didn't want to talk to him at all. She probably hated him already and he didn't blame her.

* * *

Next day...

Ray sat down on the couch and drank his water slowly. It was refreshing after two hours of hard work. He wondered if Zarine will like what he was doing for her. He sighed, even after the rose garland, she had been reluctant to talk to him. He hoped that when he surprises her with this, she'll be more willing to talk. The radio was on in the background and slowly the song that was playing registered in his mind. He began to listen to it intently.

_If I can't _

_Have you_

_Then baby I don't wanna be _

_With no one else_

_If I can't have you _

_Then baby I would rather be _

_By myself_

_She's the meaning my beauty_

_Her spirit and her style consumes me_

_From the very first time I saw her_

_She captured me within her power_

_All it took was just one look look_

_Before I knew it I was hooked_

_Put my loving to the test test_

_And now I must confess_

_If I can't _

_Have you_

_Then baby I don't wanna be _

_With no one else_

_If I can't have you _

_Then baby I would rather be _

_By myself_

_Woman I would die without you_

_I love everything about you_

_You are my very existence _

_And I say this with persistence_

_All it took was just one look look_

_Before I knew it I was hooked_

_Put my loving to the test test_

_And now I must confess_

_If I can't _

_Have you_

_Then baby I don't wanna be _

_With no one else_

_If I can't have you _

_Then baby I would rather be _

_By myself_

"That was If I Can't Have You by Rupee, from Randy to his love, Mindy," the DJ announced. "Next is This Love by Maroon 5."

Hilary and Tyson peeked in on Ray. "He looks so miserable, poor guy," the navy haired boy said.

"Well of course! Didn't you hear the lyrics to the song? He's thinking about Zarine!" the brunette said.

Kai's cell phone started ringing unexpectedly. Ray took one look at the caller ID and ignored the call. "I'll get it," Hilary said, hurrying to get the phone from the table. She pressed the button to answer it

"Hello?" she said into the phone.

"Hilary, are you guys free yet? I'm really bored," Zarine said on the other end.

"Hold on. I'll ask the others," Hilary told Zarine, walking outside where everyone was drinking lemonade.

"Guys, Zarine says that she's bored. Do you just want to call it a day and finish this tomorrow?" Hilary suggested.

"Yes!!" Tyson answered. "I'm so hungry..."

Zarine heard his comment on the other end and giggled. _Typical Tyson_, she thought.

Everyone agreed that they should stop working. Kai gestured for the brunette to head him the phone. She passed it to him and he said, "We'll all come back, don't go anywhere."

"Okie dokie. I'll be waiting for your return breathlessly," she said cheerfully before hanging up.

An hour later, the whole gang was in Kai's super classy limo. "Turn on the radio please, Thomas," Zarine requested politely. The butler was driving them since Kai didn't have a driver. He didn't need one.

"What on earth are you doing?" Mariam asked Max and Tyson, who were eating gummy bears very methodically.

"We're trying to eat all the gummy bears' heads off first," Max explained, already sounding a little hyper. "After we ate all of their heads, we'll eat the body."

"I've never tried that, let me have some too!" the silver haired girl said, reaching for the container.

Tyson took it out of her reach. "No, it's Max's and my project."

"Why can't I help?" she asked, pouting a little.

"Because," he answered.

"Because what?" she questioned, getting a little annoyed

"Because because," replied Tyson loftily, enjoying the effect of his comment on her.

"Because because what?" she demanded.

And so it went on, until Jewels said, "Stop it!"

Tyson and Zarine stopped bickering at once. Ray watched Zarine send a glare at Tyson. She had weaved pink flowers into her hair, and made Ray wonder if that was the reason that her hair always smelled like flowers.

"Oh no!" Kenny exclaimed with dismay.

His friends all turned to look at him. "The World Championships had been cancelled this year!" Kenny told them.

"WHAT?! The BBA can't do this to us!!" Tyson yelled.

"How did you know?" Kai asked sharply.

"I just got an email from Mr. Dickenson. He apologized and said that he was very regretful that this has to happen," Kenny responded.

"Arrgh!" Tyson said angrily, shoving a handful of candy into his mouth.

"There's always next year," Hilary tried to comfort him. "It'll give you more time to practice."

"I don't care about practicing! I want to compete and win!" he snapped.

He looked at Zarine when he heard her singing softly along with the radio, "Better I should know, so don't come round here, and tell me I told you so..."

"Why are you singing?" he demanded.

Zarine shrugged. "I just felt like it. Don't you feel urges to do something that you love every now and then?"

Then, If I Can't Have You by Rupee came on. "Turn it off!" Ray said.

"Why?" Jewels questioned.

"I hate this song," he replied shortly.

"But it sounds so good," Zarine said, and Ray stopped protesting immediately. But it should be noted that his face looked like a thunder cloud while the song was on.

"Here's your stop," the butler said, before getting out and opening the door for them.

They thanked him before walking to the crowded entrance of the mini-golf course.

"I FORGOT MY CANDY IN THE CAR!!" Max yelped.

"Max, surely you can live without it," his girlfriend sighed.

"Yeah, Maxie, we can always get some more here!" Tyson told him.

They paid for the tickets, and entered the golf course. There were people of all ages, and they saw a three year old little boy trying to hit a golf ball with a tiny club.

"Let's go over there," Hilary said, pointing to the other side of the course. "This area is for little kids."

After they had completed half the course, they went to the concession to have a break. (Ha, that reminded me of KitKat. Have a KitKat, have a break!!) They stood behind a huge line of people, waiting for their turn to get food.

"Kai," Zarine said, pulling on his sleeve.

"What?" Kai responded.

"Can I have some ice cream?" she asked. She pointed at a stall taking up the room of five stalls. "Over there? They have over 100 flavors..."

He handed her some money. Zarine bounced away, excited to have ice cream.

"ME TOO!" Jewels said quickly, and held out her hand. Kai sighed and took out his wallet again. Jewels ran after Zarine when she got money from Kai.

"You would think that they would die without it," remarked Hilary, speaking Kai's thought out loud. He, too, wondered why Zarine and the twins liked ice cream so much. It was certainly not that great to him

Fifteen minutes later, Jewels and Zarine came back with a big ice cream cone in each of their hands.

"Strawberry sorbet," Zarine announced proudly. "It's so good."

Jewels looked at the pile of food in front of Tyson with undisguised disgust. "I don't think I want my ice cream anymore...Kai, finish it."

"No," he answered.

"Come on! Moose track is an awesome flavor!" Zarine told him. "You'll love it!"

Kai eyed the chocolate on it. "Too much chocolate," he stated flatly.

"I'll stick it to your nose," Jewels threatened, trying to get him to eat it. She looked around at the little toddlers trotting around with their parents. "I bet these kids would love to meet Pinocchio..."

Kai snatched the ice cream cone out of her hands and began to eat it while the others snickered. He had to admit, if grudgingly, that the ice cream wasn't half bad.

"Kai is Pinocchio! Kai is Pinocchio!" Max said in a singsong voice, giggling madly.

"Max, eat some fries instead of that Freezie," Mariam told him.

"Yes, honey," he agreed, making her blush.

The sun was shining, and all of them, except Ray, were relaxed. Zarine sighed happily and curled in her chair. "This is so comfy," she commented, before closing her eyes and enjoyed the sun's warmth. She opened them again when she felt someone staring at her. Ray looked at her with longing, and confusion. Why wasn't she feeling as miserable as he was? Why was she so happy and cheerful? Didn't she miss him like he missed her? He felt bad when he realized that he wanted Zarine to feel miserable. Because if she was depressed, it would mean that she needed him. At the moment, she didn't look like she needed him at all.

They went home after another two hours there. By that time, the sun had already set and the moon was rising. "I can't believe we got kicked out!" Hilary grumbled. "That was embarrassing."

"I didn't mean to brain that elf statue with the golf ball and I certainly did not mean for that golf ball to shoot out of the elf's crutch and land in the mayor's drink!" Max defended.

"It was funny seeing the mayor's face turn purple by his wine though," Tyson remarked, laughing.

"It's not funny!" the brunette snapped.

Tyson stopped laughing, but it was obvious that he was on the verge of exploding. "I'm hungry," he whined when his stomach growled.

"Pizza?" Kenny suggested. "We can go to Mr. Benny's, it's just across the street."

"Great idea!" Tyson cheered, running across the road. He didn't watch out for cars before crossing, and almost got hit by a car. The driver honked at him and cursed loudly.

"Tyson, you could've gotten killed!" Hilary screeched at Tyson once everyone was on the other side of the street.

"I'm still healthy and alive, so there!" he snapped at her. Mariam opened the door to the pizza place.

They sat down at a big, round table. "Waiter! I want three large pizzas, one pepperoni, one chess and one Hawaiian!" Tyson said loudly. "Don't keep me waiting!"

Jewels whacked him on the head. "Don't mind him," she said to the teenage boy who was walking over.

Kai scowled as he saw the waiter's eyes glint when he looked at Jewels. The blonde guy asked, "What would you like?" While they were scanning through the menu, the boy's eyes never left the red head as he checked her up and down.

"Chicken wings," Zarine said.

"Large pepperoni pizza," Hilary ordered.

"I want bread sticks," Jewels told him.

"And two large pizzas, cheese and deluxe," Kai added finally.

"Don't forget our Coke!" Max told him.

During the course of the dinner, the waiter kept on trying to flirt with Jewels. However, Jewels paid him little attention, so he tried more direct methods. "Babe, give me your phone number and maybe we can hang out together sometime," he said, sidling up to her.

Kai snapped. All through the meal, he had to put up with that sleeze ball saying things that _he_ wanted to say to her, but never would. "Leave her alone," he barked.

"Kai, I will deal with this," Jewels said sharply. She stood up, and kicked the blonde in the balls. The boy started hopping around, clutching his you-know-what. "If you want more encouragement, you can always come back for more," she said.

Zarine winced as she looked at the pitiful figure. "Wasn't that a bit too harsh?"

"They'll never leave you alone unless you make it crystal clear," Jewels replied, sitting back down to eat her pizza as if nothing had happened.

When Ray heard Jewels' answer, he thought, I_ sure hope Zarine wouldn't do that to me._

After dinner, Jewels yawned. "I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted."

"Me too," Mariam agreed, rubbing her eyes. "Let's all go home and meet again tomorrow.

And so, they all left for home. "I'm going for a walk," Ray told Zarine and Kai before walking away.

He walked around for a long time. He couldn't explain what he was feeling. He was just so lost and depressed. He sighed deeply and wished that the petite girl would suddenly appear and try to comfort him or something. When he spotted a group of guys around his age drinking, he walked over to them.

"You guys got some extra cans to spare?" he asked.

"That depends on what you're willing to pay for it," one of them said, peering at him with bloodshot eyes.

Ray handed him some money, and someone passed him several cans. He strolled along, just drinking, hoping to forget the pain in him.

Zarine looked blankly at the page that she was supposed to be reading. She couldn't stop thinking about Ray. She knew she had to talk to him sooner or later, but she was too timid to do it.

Suddenly, there was a huge CRASH, scaring the wits out of her. Quickly, the silver haired girl ran to the site of commotion and found Ray standing tipsily, looking around blearily. A vase was shattered on the ground, and the stand that was under it had fallen. "Ray! You okay?" she asked with concern, walking up to him.

When the smell of alcohol reached her nose, she gasped, "Please don't tell me that you've been drinking!"

"Why do you care?" he demanded, roughly pushing her aside.

She cried, "No, Ray! Why? Why were you drinking?" Tears began leaking out of her eyes. It was all because of her that this was happening!

"Zarine, it's none of your business," he told her coldly.

He left her and went to the bathroom. He filled up the sink and dunked his head into it. Spotting his face in the mirror, he saw that his eyes were red and puffy from the beer and crying over Zarine. God, he loved her so. There he goes, thinking about her again.

He crawled into bed, feeling thoroughly miserable. After a few minutes, he heard

someone coming in and set something down on the table. Someone climbed into the

bed, and hugged him tight. "I'm so sorry," he heard Zarine say. "I was such an idiot!"

"Don't say that," he said. "You aren't an idiot to me." He sat up and turned his table light on, and saw the tear streaks on her face.

"Yes I am! If I was only brave enough to talk to you, you wouldn't have been drinking," she said, also sitting up. "Here, I got some hot chocolate for you." She handed a white cup to him.

"I'm really sorry," Zarine apologized again. "I...I hadn't been talking to you because I was scared."

"Hm...why?" he questioned curiously. "You can tell me anything. But first, I'm going to tell you what really happened that day, alright?"

She nodded. Ray took a deep breath before starting, "That day, I was really going with the others to get something for your birthday. On the way, we met Shea, and she insisted on dragging me away, saying that there was something important that I _had_ to know. So I followed her. She did say that it wasn't going to take very long, and I thought,_ What's the harm?_ I wished I never did." Zarine took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. He sounded so sad, and angry with himself. "She started saying how much she liked me and how we should be together, even though you and I were together. I turned her down because I want to be with you.

'Well, I suppose we can still be friends,' she said.

I nodded.

'Can I have a hug? You know, we are friends,' she pleaded.

She wrapped her arms around me, and she just started kissing me! I swear, Zarine! I was in so much shock, I was frozen there. I wish I did push her away," he concluded.

"Ray, I love you," she told him simply. "And I believe you. I didn't really have any doubts...not after I talked to Xeora that night."

He pulled her in a bone crashing bear hug. "I'm so glad!" he whispered into her hair.

"Ray, can you not hold me so tight?" she asked breathlessly. "I'm having trouble getting oxygen here."

"Oops," Ray said sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm just so happy."

"Me too," she said, smiling brightly at him. Her eyes were soft blue once again as she gazed at him.

* * *

Question #1: What do you think Zarine is feeling when her eyes are soft blue? No choices...have to guess. It's not that hard!

Question #2: Which part was your favourite?

Whew! This was LONG! I have 14.5 pages! Hurray! I wanted to put more in, but...it can wait until next chapter...I love this one. So eventful...I liked how Jewels threatened Kai with the ice cream cone the best...


	34. Chapter 32: Surprise Appearance

Hello, I'm back with a chapter, an extremely short chapter but nevertheless a chapter! Sorry for the long wait, but then again it is my story and I have every right to torture my readers…lol. When school is out for Christmas, I will probably update twice if not more. :)

Do you think that Leo and Shea are out of action now? Hardly…Leo has more evil plans install for Zarine and Ray. (starts to sing, "I'm so evil…lalala." Okay, that was just lame! Lol.)

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Two

Ray couldn't have been happier or more content as he woke up to see Zarine using his shoulder as her pillow. He watched her sleep and played with her hair, winding and unwinding a strand of her silver locks around his finger.

"Morning," she mumbled sleepily, stirring slightly. She sat up and yawned. Her hair was messy and all out of place.

He smiled at how cute she looked in the morning, and he suddenly got an urge to kiss her real bad. "Morning!" he responded. He pulled her back down beside him, and wrapped an arm around her waist.

He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers gently. "Never leave me again," he whispered in her ear. "Never leave me."

She blushed, and responded, "Ray…I…I wouldn't leave for anything." Her heart felt like it was going to burst with joy, and she smiled dreamily as she thought, _Maybe we will stay together and get married someday._

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, startling her out of her daydream.

"Nothing!" she answered quickly, blushing even rosier than before.

He kissed the top of her head. "Don't tell me if you don't want to. It's okay."

Her eyes turned soft blue at his comment. Ray wondered what it meant. However, he decided that it must be something good because it always made him feel warm and fuzzy inside when she looked at him with those eyes.

The day of Zarine's birthday…

"I ONLY WANT SOME CANDY! WHY WOULDN'T YOU EVER LET ME HAVE ANYTHING?" a very upset Zarine yelled at Tyson.

"JUST BECAUSE RAY SPOILS YOU DON'T MEAN THAT EVERY ONE OF US SHOULD DO WHATEVER YOU WANT!" Tyson shouted back at her. "IT'S MY CANDY!"

At this point, everyone was shaking their heads and each had a huge sweat drop down their foreheads.

"BUT YOU LET HILARY HAVE SOME!" she complained.

"I let Hilary have some because…eh, because…" His face began to feel hot as he struggled to find a suitable answer. "Just because! And why do small people have to be so loud?" he whined. "How tall are you anyway? Four feet and ten inches?"

"No!" she denied. "I'm four feet and eleven inches tall, so there!"

"Guess what? I'm so tall! I'm four feet and eleven inches tall! Woohoo!" the navy haired boy said in a sing-song voice.

"Tyson!" Kenny chided, but his voice was lost in Tyson's screaming. Zarine had just launched herself at Tyson, with murder in her eyes.

Tyson squeaked fearfully as he looked at Zarine, who sat on top of him with a furious expression. "_Don't _ever make fun of my height or else," she growled. Jabbing a finger on his chest, she demanded, "Is that clear? Never make fun of how short I am."

"Yes, of course," he laughed shakily, hoping that his reply was good enough to avoid setting her off again.

Jabbing him a final time, she got off of him and stood up. "So where are we going?" she asked the others as if nothing happened.

"That's top secret," said Carrie, who had just returned from England the previous day. "You need to wear a blindfold on the way there in the car." Noticing the cross look on her friend's face, she pulled the cloth out and added, "It's not that bad. We even picked out a dark blue cloth to be a blindfold."

"And that is supposed to make me feel better about it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "But the cloth does look lovely…"

Carrie tied the cloth around Zarine's head tight enough so that she wouldn't be able to see through it.

"Let's go," the small girl heard Kai say. She groped around desperately for someone so she wouldn't stumble on the way out. Suddenly, she was lifted off her feet, and slung over someone's shoulder. She heard her friends laugh as her carrier started walking with her over his shoulder.

Hey! What's the big idea?" she protested. Feeling a long ponytail brush against her arm, she grinned mischievously. She took the ponytail in her hands and gave it a light jerk.

"Let me down now if you don't want me to detach your hair from your scalp," she threatened, barely suppressing a giggle.

Ray set her down on her feet just for a moment before sweeping her up in his arms, bridal style. "Happy now?" he asked in resignation. It was evident that he did not enjoy the thought of his hair saying good bye to his head.

She burrowed her face into his chest and smiled, "Yep, very happy."

The weather was bright and sunny like summer days should be. About an hour later, they arrived at their location. Zarine heard voices of people talking, lots and lots of them. Suddenly, she heard a plane coming closer and closer to land…

"Wait, are we going on a trip to somewhere?" she asked suspiciously.

Jewels shook her head, forgetting that her friend was blindfolded.

"Well?" the petite girl asked when she didn't hear a response.

"No," Kai answered gruffly, and smirked at the tall red head. Jewels' only response was to look away, pointedly ignoring him.

Ray picked his girlfriend up again, so she wouldn't get trampled or lost in the crowded airport. They made their way to the gate where people coming to Japan would go through. Then they waited…

"Zarine!" someone called when he spotted her silver hair.

Forgetting everything in her joy, Zarine ripped the blindfold off of her and ran to her best friend. "Jeff!" she cried, before flinging herself onto him. ""Oh my gosh," she murmured.

He laughed and spun her around in a circle before setting her down again. "You're here," she said, "I can't believe it! You're actually here!" She hugged him even tighter. "I've missed you so much!"

She took a good look at him. "You are so tall now," she commented. He was almost as tall as Ray, and the last time that she had seen him, he wasn't even a head taller than she was.

"And you're still so little," he replied, ruffling her hair fondly.

"Give your bro a hug too," Will said beside them. Zarine happily obliged him, and positively beamed at him.

"You should have told me that you were coming," she said, frowning slightly. "I missed all the excitement and anticipation of seeing the both of you."

Jeff held up his hands in defense, and told her, "Ray wanted it to be a surprise." He looked back at where her friends were standing, and gave a start when he saw Ray's black hair._ So that must be him,_ he thought sadly. Zarine had sent him a ton of pictures even since he bugged her about it.

"Oh! Come and meet my friends!" she said brightly, dragging him back to where the others where waiting. When he saw her smile, his sadness evaporated and everything was fine again. It was going to be a fun two weeks with his best friend.

* * *

There you have it! My new chapter! 


	35. Chapter 33: Claire

Thank you so much for the reviews! It is nice to know that people reads this story even though I had been lazy lately. Oh well, at least I still get them done and still have the will to do it. I just decided what I am going to do about the rest of this so it shouldn't be so troublesome to think of some more new ideas. I was just lazy about writing, not about thinking, lol.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Three – Claire (not a new OC by the way)

Zarine was unbelievably happy as the butler drove the limo out of the airport, even though she was squashed tightly between Will and Jeff.

"I still can't believe that you came," she said to her brother for the hundredth time.

Tyson groaned, "We know, we know. Now shut up about it already. You should like a broken record." Even that comment could not make her anger flare up.

She ignored him and turned to Jeff. "How are your parents?"

"They are fine. They miss you a lot though," he replied, studying her with his dark brown eyes.

Beside them, Hilary and Tyson were arguing about whether the temperature was more unbearable that day or the day before.

I tell you, yesterday was way hotter than today," Tyson protested. "I was sweating like crazy!"

"It might had something to do with the fact that you had a sweater on," Jewels pointed out to him.

The blue haired boy scratched his head wonderingly. "Was I really? I can't remember. I was too busy being hyper with Max to notice."

Jeff stared at Tyson with surprise. "I wouldn't worry too much over him, O Handsome One," Zarine told him with a wink. "Wait until you see his appetite, now that is something that you don't see everyday."

He groaned, "I wish you wouldn't remind me of that!"

"Just teasing," she laughed at his reaction.

Hilary asked Zarine curiously, "What was all that about?"

"Ah, well you see, when we were in grade three, we had to be in a play. It had a stupid plot, and Jeff was supposed to be the most handsome prince in the world," she answered. "So everyone had to say 'O Handsome One' whenever they talk to him. It was really funny."

"It was embarrassing!" Jeff said. "I thought I would die the next day at school. The worst were the parents who came up and said that it was true that I was handsome or whatever."

"But dear, you are!" his best friend told him. "I remember girls always looking at your way in class. Surely that hasn't changed."

Zarine spoke the truth. Jeff was a…I'm not sure if I would use the word handsome, but he was certainly very attractive to the females with his dark brown, so dark that it was nearly black and tanned skin. Also, he had very dark brown eyes that would melt any girls' heart.

Jeff shot a quick glance at Ray to see how he reacted when Zarine called him 'dear.' He shook his head slightly when he saw Ray frowning slightly. Sometimes Zarine had no sense of timing.

"Hilary, do you want to play a game with us?" Tyson and Max asked.

"What game?" the brunette asked with interest.

"Well, we play rock, paper, scissors and if you lose, you have to eat a Cherry Blaster," Max explained. "It will be lots of fun!"

"And you will get hyper again, right?" Mariam sighed. She was resigned to the fact that she could not change Max's love for being hyper. No matter how hard she tried, she could not convince him that it would not hurt him not to eat candy for a day.

"Well, yes, if I lose a lot," he replied. "You should play too! Have some fun with us!"

She looked uncertainly at Hilary. _Well if Hil is playing too, maybe I should…_she thought. "Oh, alright," she sighed. Pretty soon, she was wrapped up in the game and was having fun. And she felt maybe, just maybe, she understands why Max is the way he is.

Bright sunshine made Zarine's silver hair sparkle as they got out of the limo, (I wish I have a limo!) and the sight of it tugged at Jeff's heart. He had nearly forgotten how pretty it was. He slung an arm around her shoulder casually, and whispered in her ear, "My Starlight, you will love the present from me."

"Well I would still love you even if I hated the present," she told him.

Ray scowled at Jeff. It wasn't only because his arm was around his girlfriend; it was more because of the way that he was looking at her. It was definitely not the way that he should look at his best friend.

"Oi, presents!" Zarine cheered at the sight of the pile of presents on the coffee table. They were all wrapped in different shades of blue wrapping paper or in a blue bag.

She settled down on the floor and opened them one by one. From Max, she got a necklace with a blue gem in the shape of a dog. She received a Discman from Carrie and Jewels. Kenny gave her a cook book with lots of recipes for ice cream related deserts.

She opened the box from Ray and touched the soft white bathrobe in it. 'For my little sweetie, this will keep you warm when you are in your PJs if I am not there, love Ray,' she read the card silently. Red blossomed in her cheeks as she thanked Ray for the gift.

Perhaps the best surprise was the last present in a huge bag that awaited her. Zarine took out the tissue paper, which inevitably was blue also, and took out a light blue sparkly teddy bear. "Jeff! You are giving me Claire??" she asked in surprise, staring at the bear that was four feet in length.

"Well, she will make you think of me, right?" he nudged at her.

"You actually gave that little monster a name?" Tyson asked incredulously and rolled on the floor as he laughed.

"Claire is not a monster!" she protested. "She is the cutest teddy bear!"

"What's the big deal about that thing anyway?" Mariam questioned curiously.

Jeff cleared his throat and began to explain, "Zarine got this weird idea when she was around four that she had to give me a pair of teddy bears, a boy and a girl, for my birthday. That one, Claire, is the biggest one, which she had given to me for my ninth birthday. It is her favourite one."

"And the other teddy for his ninth birthday was the tiniest bear that I had given him. It is about an inch tall," she said, while reaching into the bag for the other thing that was in it. It turned out to be a short sleeve shirt with a cute kitty that said, 'Sweet as Sugar' in the front, and an irritated kitty that said, 'Tough as Nails' on the back.

"Thank you so much!" she said to her friends happily. Tyson fidgeted awkwardly. He adored Zarine, but he didn't know what to get her or if she will like the present that he gave her. Besides, he was always mean to her. _She probably thinks I hate her_, he thought,_ either that or she doesn't really like me that much either._

The next morning…

Will yawned as he set out down the hall to Zarine's room, hoping to wake her up and annoy her a bit before dragging her off to eat ice cream. It was the perfect plan. She was going to be very irritated at being waken up at six in the morning, but ice cream should cool her anger down immediately. He put his hand on the door knob and turned it.

He was startled to see the bed in the room had no sign of a person sleeping, or that anyone had slept in it at all. It was impossible that Zarine would be awake at this hour…unless…unless she was planning on something.

When he saw the door on the right side of the room, he got curious and went to snoop. What he found was Ray sleeping, and a very familiar head was can be seen snuggled under his arm.

"Zarine Alaina Star, what the hell are you doing?!" he demanded as he went over to the bed to yank her out by her arm.

Cobwebs of her dream were still clinging to her mind. She found herself on her feet when her mind was slightly more oriented. "Ouch, Will, what? Why did you bang in here like that?"

Ray was looking very puzzled as he gazed at the fuming brother. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Stay out of it, Ray Kon!" Will snarled at him before dragging his sister back to her _own_ room and pushed her on her _own_ bed.

"What's wrong?" she asked, gazing up at him in alarm. She had never seen him that angry, at least not with her.

"What were you doing in his bed?!" he demanded. "Just how far had you gone with him?"

"Will, we didn't do anything! We were just sleeping!" she answered. "Besides, what kind of person do you take me for anyway? I thought…I thought you trusted me more than that."

He studied her for a long time, trying to gain control of himself before asking, "Why?"

"I like to, that's why. I like sleeping in his arms," she replied, a note of defiance clear in her voice. Then, she said more quietly, "It makes me feel safe…and I never have bad dreams when I am with him."

"I don't approve!" he stated.

"What's the big deal anyway? It's not like we ever did anything! I wouldn't, I promise!" she said.

"I don't think so," he told her.

"You don't trust me, is that it?" she asked angrily. It wasn't fair! She never did anything wrong and neither did Ray.

"No, I don't trust him enough. Who knows? Maybe he'll get tempted and who knows what will happen then," he suggested.

"How can you even say such a thing? Ray protects me from every little thing. He isn't like that! I trust him, I trust him not to hurt me or force me to do something that I want to," she said.

"I don't approve. From now on, you're going to be sleeping _here_, in _this_ bed. And he is going to be sleeping in the other room in his bed," he told her. "And you better obey me, or else."

"But…" she protested.

"No arguments!" he barked before striding out and slamming the door shut.

Her boyfriend came into the room in the space of a few seconds. He had been listening by the connecting door. "He had never yelled at me like that before," she told him quietly.

He hugged her before kneeling on his knees so he wouldn't tower over her, and said, "Don't worry about it too much, alright?"

"You don't mind the fact that he disapproves?" she asked hopefully.

"No, it's not your fault," he replied. Then he added, "But I do wish that he would trust me with you more."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked at him critically. "You better go back to bed, you look really tired."

He glanced at the clock on her night table. "It is only six ten in the morning after all." Yawning, he unwound her arms from him gently. "I'm going back to sleep for a couple of hours, no, make that several hours."

"You lazy cat!" she laughed.

"Cat?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Yes, you remind me of a cat for some reason," she replied. "You don't look too much like a cat though." (He didn't look like a cat in V-force…but that may change…hint hint)

"You are a strange girl," he commented before going back to his room.

She watched him leave with a satisfied smile on her face. Now…to what was really important…

Zarine giggled as she put some headphones on Jeff before hitting the play button on the tape recorder. Her friend, who was sleeping like a baby before woke up with a start and fell off the bed, pretending to be dead.

"Wake up!" she shook his shoulders. "Come on, I want to go eat ice cream!"

"BOO!" Jeff suddenly sprung to life and grabbed her arms. Spotting the startled look on her face, he started laughing uncontrollably. "You're out of practice, Zarine. I couldn't scare you that easily since we were six! That was a nice trick though. I thought someone had actually shot me with a gun with that loud bang."

She smiled, "Why thank you. Now get dressed. We are going to get ice cream."

"What time is it?" he questioned, rising up to go over to his suitcase.

She answered evasively, "Ah, not too early, not too late."

"Don't do that please," he told her before noticing that it was only seven in the morning. "Is it really so hard for a guy to get to sleep in during summer?"

She shrugged and told him in an offhand manner, "I _could_ make it so you never get a peaceful night."

He pretended rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I knew that I missed you a lot, but I just wasn't exactly sure how much."

She grinned up at him wickedly. "I know, aren't I just delightful to be around?"

He laughed again and said, "Yes, you are, surprisingly enough."


	36. Chapter 34: Bad Mood

Chapter Thirty-Four - Bad Mood

Zarine asked the question that she had been dying to ask, "Did you bury my parents? Were there enough of them left to bury even?" She didn't feel that she should have brought it up yesterday with everyone around.

"Yeah, the police found their burnt bodies…" Jeff replied sadly. He had been very fond of her parents. They treated him as a second son when they were still alive.

She looked relieved to hear it. "Good, then I can visit them still at the cemetery everyday when I go to Hong Kong with you."

He was very surprised. "Wait, what? Go back? I thought you love it here."

"I do, but I want to visit. I want to go back there for two weeks at least. Well, unless I'm not welcomed at your house anymore," she said, almost fearfully.

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Of course you are welcomed to. But there's something that you should know…we don't live there anymore…not in the town that we used to live in."

"You've moved?" she asked quietly. "So even if I go back, I can't visit my parents everyday? Why did you move? Where do you live now?"

"Hold on," he said "We moved to a bigger house, a huge one. Not as big as Kai's mansion, but it's really nice, and there is a beach at the back! You will like it a lot. Dad got promoted in his company so he could afford a house like that, so he bought one."

"I see," was all Zarine said.

Jeff put his arm around her impulsively. "You should come back to live with us. You will get your own room, and we can go to school and spend everyday together like we used to. Please, come back with me…and Will."

"I dunno," she mumbled, nibbling on her half gone ice cream cone. "I have to think about it."

"Okay, but I know that your brother missed you a lot," he told her. "If you do go back with us, he will be really happy."

She did want to go back and live with them, but what about Ray? He stayed with her, and took care of her while they lived at Kai's. She couldn't just leave him all of a sudden…

"Hey," a familiar voice said ahead of them. It was Ray.

Jeff was all too aware of his arm around Zarine's shoulder. He didn't move it, however.

"I thought you were sleeping in?" she asked, surprised.

"I couldn't go back to sleep," Ray answered coolly, before practically snatching her away from Jeff. He shot an extremely cold glare at the brown haired boy.

"Ow," the petite girl grumbled, rubbing her arm. "Don't be so rough, Ray."

"Sorry," he replied, before putting his arm possessively around Zarine's waist. "Let's go back now."

"But –" she started to protest. Ray had already began to walk, and she was forced to follow him. Jeff hurried after them, he didn't know the way back and he didn't want to get lost. He shook his head. _That is one jealous boyfriend…_he thought.

* * *

Kai picked up the phone and dialed Jewel's number.

"Hello, if it's not important, hang up before your head is snapped off," Jewels growled on the other end.

Kai smirked amusedly. "It's me," he said.

"Who?" she questioned, pretending that she didn't know who it was on the phone.

"It's Kai."

"Oh, him! Right, the great Hiwatari who expects everyone to know him just because he is so damn and so filthily rich that it is to the point of disgusting."

"Stop fooling around," he grunted. "I want to spend the day with you."

"What an honour! Why, should I curtsy for you and fetch you anything that you like? I can bake you some cookies. I am not as good as Zarine is at cooking, but they will be edible."

"Stop that," he snapped at her.

"What!"

He sighed, "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, nothing, if you leave out the fact that Carrie had gone out with my parents to get ice cream, leaving me alone at home with no ice cream, I am just dandy," she muttered.

Kai couldn't help but laugh, just a little. "You are angry because your sister is getting ice cream but you aren't?"

"It's not funny!" she practically yelled at him. She in such a bad mood, she hadn't noticed the fact that Kai almost never laughed. "I need ice cream just as much as Carrie does!"

"What if I take you out for ice cream before we go to watch a movie?" he asked.

"Ooh, sure if I will get ice cream," she replied eagerly.

"That is scary," he mused to himself.

"What is?" she questioned wonderingly while opening a drawer for something to wear.

"You sounded exactly like Zarine just now."

"So?"

"Okay, I will pick you up in an hour or so," he told her, feeling strangely happy for some reason.

Her muffled reply was, "Sure, I will see you then."

Before he could ask her what suddenly happened to her phone, she had hung up on him.

Kai studied himself in the mirror in the bathroom. Deciding that the shirt with a skull was too gloomy, he took it off and tossed it aside. He looked down at his pants, and discovered a stain. Gazing back at his reflection again, he sighed. His hair was really messy too.

He went back into his bedroom and opened his closet. 'What can I wear that would make me look good for a date?' he wondered, and then mentally corrected himself, 'This is not a date!'

Finally, he chose a black shirt and jeans after staring at his clothes at a long time. You would have thought that it would have been an easy decision to make since he had so many clothes.

He smiled to himself when he recalled that Jewels had said once that she liked black on him. (I know, so OOC for Kai! But come on, it's Jewels!)

About an hour later…

Kai strode to the front door, feeling nervous. He hoped his hair looked all right.

Jewels yelled, "COMING!" when she heard the door bell.

"Hey," she greeted him breathlessly when she opened the door. "Come in, I am almost ready to go." She hurried up the stairs while trying to get Carrie's hoop earrings into the hole in her ear. She hadn't worn earrings for so long. She really hoped that the skin hadn't grown over the piercing.

She glanced at herself in the mirror approvingly before turning away. Then, she turned back again to stare. Why was her hair down, when it was so hot outside? And why was she wearing her favourite t-shirt that she knew that Kai liked?

She suddenly scowled and snatched up a hairbrush. She wasn't going to be brainwashed by some guy. If she didn't have the time to change her shirt now, at least she had enough to put her hair up into a ponytail, or so she thought.

Kai opened the door. "Come on. The movie will start soon."

"It's too hot outside. I have to put my hair up," she told him.

He sighed. "You are going to be eating ice cream in ten minutes. You are not going to melt that easily."

"Ok, whatever," she mumbled before putting her brush down.

Once outside, Kai noticed that she was actually wearing earrings! Little silver hoop earrings! He can't remember the last time when he had seen her wear any jewelry, let alone poking some through her ear. A ray from the sun hit her face, and he got even more surprised. Was that a sparkle on her face! This was getting way too weird. Jewels did not wear earrings, and she did not put make up on herself either.

"Stop staring," she said, irritated. "My face isn't that fascinating." All the same, heat rose up in her face. What was wrong with her anyway? Blushing like a goose head because Kai was staring at her. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became and the angrier she became, the redder her face got. Seeing her glaring at everything and everyone, people got out of their way to avoid the furious teenager who was stalking down the street.

Jewels calmed down a bit as she licked her ice cream cone. At least, she wasn't glaring at everybody like they should all go to hell.

Kai studied her face. God, but she was beautiful to his eyes. Her red hair fell to her shoulders in waves. "Why didn't you get an ice cream cone?" she demanded accusingly. "You know I don't like it when people watch me eat."

The fire in her eyes was back again, and Kai shook his head slightly. He would never understand the female population. What did he do? He bought her ice cream like he promised. And he couldn't even remember if she had even mentioned that she didn't like people watch her eat to him once.

"What movie are we watching?" she questioned, barely to manage to keep herself from growling at Kai.

"The Aviator," he answered shortly.

"Okay," she shrugged.

"Are you having second thoughts about going to the movies?" he asked.

She snapped, "No, why would you care? You already bribed me to come out of my hole…"

"That is how you see your house?" he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, so what?"

"Interesting…" he drawled, leaning back on his chair and putting his arms behind his head.

She stared at his arms, suddenly looking dreamy. They looked strong and muscular. She decided that she would like to have them around her. She scowled at her ice cream at the thought of that. He was just driving her nuts!

"Let's go," she stood up abruptly, throwing her half eaten ice cream cone out. Kai could barely stop himself from gawking. When had Jewels ever, ever, thrown ice cream away before she made sure that every drop of it was licked?

All in all, it was a strange and awkward day for the two of them. Jewels had nearly bitten his head off for trying to pay for her movie ticket until she had realized that she had forgotten to take her wallet with her when she left her house. Even then, she was muttering something inaudible under her breath as Kai was getting the tickets. He wasn't looking forward to an even more prickly Jewels as they found a seat near the back.

He couldn't pay the slightest attention to what the actors were saying in the movie. All the thoughts in his mind were on the girl beside him. Why was she in such a bad mood? She didn't have the best temper, maybe it was PMS? He stole a peek at her and noticed that her hand was on the arm rest beside him. His hand twitched at the desire to hold it before he had clenched it into a fist. It was then that he had began to contemplate the fact that he might, just _might_ like her more than his best friend.

'You've got all the signs of being infatuated with Jewels,' Dranzer murmured in his mind.

'I've told you a thousand times that I don't want you to read my thoughts,' Kai growled at his bit beast.

'Consider it as one of the obligations of having a bit beast,' Dranzer told him. 'I know that Jewels is infatuated with you too. Wouldn't it be nice to have someone to hold in your arms?'

Images of him holding Jewels in his arms immediately flashed in his mind. It was all the phoenix's illusions, Kai knew. It wasn't only his hand that twitched now, the arm that was closer to the red head began twitching like mad, and soon his whole body was twitching.

'You two will look so cute together,' Dranzer chuckled before leaving him alone.

"Kai, Kai, what's wrong? Are you having a seizure?" Jewels whispered concernedly, shaking him.

"No," he hissed at her, jerking his arm away.

"Fine," she shrugged before returning her gaze to the screen.

He could still feel the touch of her hand on his arm. Then he recalled the times that he had kissed her and remembered how sweet she tasted. He stared at her, unable to remove his eyes from her face. He looked away immediately when she turned her eyes to him. This was madness! This was weird! This was…not how things should be!

He began to wonder about what had changed that made it so awkward to be with Jewels now. Her feelings obviously hadn't changed. Look at the way that she had snapped at him. But him, that was a different matter. He had never thought of her as beautiful before, or wanted to kiss her. It seemed like that his world around him had crashed when he realized something. He must be in love with Jewels.

He could only sit in his seat, feeling numb and yet more alive then he had felt before. The girl he wanted sat next to him, she was what he had wished to get his whole life.

He came to his senses in time to watch the end of the movie, but he was impatient for it to be over, because when it was, he would do something he had never done in his whole life.

"Look, I don't know why you are so mad through the day, but…" he took a deep breath. "Will you go out with me?"

"What!" Jewels yelped. "Just because I am mad doesn't mean that I would want to go out with you!"

"I knew you wouldn't agree to it," he sighed. "I just thought I would ask."

"This is some kind of joke, isn't it?" she demanded, grabbing the collar on his shirt. Her eyes burned into his angrily, her face only a few inches from his face. "If you are, then –" She was cut off abruptly when Kai suddenly kissed her. Her anger melted away as she responded to his kiss, and her hands moved to wrap themselves around his neck, while his arms encircled her waist tightly.

"Jewels, I wasn't joking," he said huskily. "I was serious."

She stroked his neck softly. "If you put it that way…sure…"

He smiled at her, the happy smile that was now reserved for her. "Smile more often," she told him. "You look way better this way than with you usual smirk or the serious face."

"I have an idea…Let's not tell the others about this and watch them flounder around trying to make us a couple," Kai suggested.

She grinned at the very idea. "Of course, it would be very amusing…"

* * *

"You shouldn't be so jealous. He is my best friend, there's nothing wrong with us spending time together," Zarine told Ray, obviously very annoyed.

"It's not the fact that you were with him. It's the fact that he puts his arm around you like you are his," he muttered.

Her jaw dropped. "He used to do that all the time. Stop it! He isn't treating me any differently than he used to. It's not what you think." She lifted her chin up in defiance. "I am not going to tell him to stop treating me like his best friend just because you are unhappy with the way he treats me."

He glared at her. She let him have his way at the strangest things and yet so she could be so stubborn at other times that she shouldn't be stubborn about. "You are my girlfriend! You are not his, and I will never allow anyone else but me to have you!" he shouted at her.

It was his turn to be surprised when she blushed and said, "Well you have to share me with other people too, alright?" She touched his face gently. "Don't be so possessive, I am not going anywhere."

She always made his heart melt when she looked up at him with those soft blue eyes, and this time was no exception. "I love you," he told her. "I will try not to be as jealous as you claim."

"As I claim! You are! Don't deny it," she protested indignantly.

He grinned at her. "Whatever you say, darling." She refused to answer as she walked out the door, but not before he had spotted the red in her cheeks.

Kai came in a few minutes and asked, "Do you find that girls are the most bizarre creatures in the world?"

"I've lost count of how many times I had thought so, my friend," Ray answered and shook his head.

Ta da! I hope this satisfies your Kai/Jewels cravings! Review please.


	37. Chapter 35: Untitled

Chapter Thirty-Five - (untitled until I can think of one)

Ray, wearing only his boxers, walked into the room after a shower. Zarine was just lying on her stomach with a book on his bed. For once, she didn't blush when he walked in half naked.

"Oh my," Zarine exclaimed. "You look like a girl!"

"What!" he demanded. "Is this supposed to be an insult?"

"No, it's just I haven't seen you with your hair down before. I like it," she smiled.

The last thing he expected someone to say when his hair was down was that they _liked_ it. "What? You don't have to look like a man all the time," she said. His butt hadn't even made contact the bed before she touched his hair. "This is perfect! Can I play with it, pretty please?" she begged.

"Give me a kiss first," he told her slyly. "You can only play with it if you kiss me."

She kissed him once on the lips quickly. Ray quickly intercepted her hands as they moved toward his hair. "That wasn't good enough," he stated flatly. "I want a nice, long kiss."

Hesitantly, Zarine leaned closer to him. "Come on, you can kiss your own boyfriend," he grinned. She gave him a soft and gentle kiss. As she moved back to break it off, his arms wound about her waist tightly and he kissed her deeply. She melted against him instantly.

Jeff and Will walked in right at that moment. Jeff's heart was torn apart at the sight. Sure he knew that they were going out, but he couldn't stand the sight of them kissing each other.

"Ahem," Will cleared his throat. Zarine broke off the kiss and turned her head to the door, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"What's up?" Ray asked, both of his arms hugged Zarine even closer to him.

"We wanted to see what you two were up to," answered Will, who had a wide grin on his face. "Well, we should be going now. Come on, Jeff, let's see if we can get Kai to play video games with us."

Jeff followed Will slowly, casting a last glance at the petite girl who was still snuggled up to her boyfriend._ If I can get her away from him…maybe… _he thought.

As if he had read Jeff's mind, Will turned around to look at him. "Look, I know how you feels about my sister, but don't do try anything to break them apart."

"But…I thought you wanted her to come back with us!"

"Of course I do! Things have changed, and she is happier with him than she will be with us," Will said matter-of-factly.

"Whatever, I don't like Ray," his friend grumbled.

Ray rubbed his arm where Zarine had just punched him hard. "What was that for?"

"That wouldn't have happened if you would just let me play with your hair!" she said, while grabbing a handful of his black hair in her hands. "Now sit still…"

He groaned, he could just see the wheels turning in her head. "Please, don't do anything embarrassing."

Her reply was, "We will see how it turns out."

Zarine made him turn his back on the mirror, but after ten minutes of desperately turning around to see what he looked like, he finally caught a glimpse. "Zarine!" he gasped. "I look horrible!"

"No you don't," she lied. "I will make you look great!"

He struggled to get away from her, but all he succeeded in doing was almost pulling out his own hair.

"You asked for this!" she growled and led him into her room where she found some hair clips before making him beside her bed and continuing.

Finally, after fifteen long minutes…"You can look now!" the petite girl chirped happily.

He turned to the mirror and let out a scream that could be heard two streets over.

"What's going on?" Kai asked, as Jeff and Will appeared at his heels.

"Hey dude, what happened to you?" Will laughed at his hairdo. His hair was all braided intricately, and a pink bow tied the end of each braid. There were clips all over his head.

"Your sister!" the black haired boy yelled at him. "Now I really look like a girl!"

"It's not my fault that you have such long and tempting hair," Zarine grinned at him, while Will and Jeff laughed, even Kai was smiling in amusement. "Don't rip the ribbons out…we have to take a picture of my hard work!"

"I don't think so," he snapped.

She stuck her tongue out at him, "Fine!"

"You have no idea what you got yourself into," Jeff said, smiling at Zarine.

"I realized that a little too late," Ray sighed.

"What is that supposed to mean!" his girlfriend demanded.

Jeff's POV

"Jeff, Jeff, let's go swim in Kai's pool!" Zarine bounded into my room cheerfully the next day.

It took every ounce of my will to not stare at her in her bikini. She was so hot! And I wanted her to be mine more than ever. "I'll be just a second," I said.

"Okay, I'll see you there in a minute," she giggled, blowing me a kiss before shutting the door.

When my head broke through the surface of the water after I was shoved into the water by my other best friend, Will, a frog had somehow landed on my head.

I was positive that my hair was slimy for three days after I washed it. I looked around for my love and found her staring avidly at something. Her cheeks were so red, they were like giant cherries. I scowled upon discovering that she was looking at Ray, and his muscular body. Okay, so maybe my chest wasn't as filled out as his, but it shouldn't matter right? Why was he so great anyway? I knew her better than anyone except for her brother. She told me everything in her heart, her dreams, her fears, everything. I would do anything for her.

There he goes again, kissing her. He kissed her a billion times a day, on her cheek, on her hair, on her temple… It made me sick to watch how he is all over her! She is very happy with him though. There was always a smile on her face. Maybe I should tell her that …

"Ouch!" I muttered as a giant ball hit my head. I turned around and saw Carrie's wide grin.

"It took you long enough to wake up!" she told me before swimming away, no doubt playing tricks on another innocent friend.

"YEEHAA!" Tyson yelled as he cannonballed into the water, causing a huge splash.

Unfortunately, Hilary was the person who was closest to the diving board and received a big splatter of water in the face. She disappeared into the water and reappeared ten seconds later dragging Tyson by his ear.

"Ow, ow, ow! Hilary, I'm sorry!" he yelped. "My ears going to come off! Zarine, stop laughing! This is not funny!"

Finally, the brunette released his ear and he rubbed his ear furiously. "That was painful," he grumbled.

"And harsh," Carrie added.

"That too," Tyson agreed, still rubbing away at his ear.

"If Hilary didn't manage to twist it off, you are going to rub it off," Zarine informed him. Quite cheekily, I must say.

He scowled at her and stopped. Muttering to himself, he swam away. I was positive that he was sulking.

Later…

"A cake!" Tyson yelled as soon as we saw it on the table. He ran towards it but Zarine got to it first. She picked it up, and threw it at me.

SPLAT! It hit me on the chest before I could react. She took off like the wind, disappearing from sight.

"Zarine!" I yelled at her. I ran after her. I could hear her laughing just ahead of me. "You are not going to get away with this!"

She turned around and made a face at me, and tripped over a carpet. Grabbing my chance, I pinned her down. She giggled, "You look funny." She got some whipped cream from my face with her finger, and licked it. "And you taste good too."

She was not going to get away with this. I lowered my face and chest to her body and rubbed cake off of me and onto her. She protested, "Get off!"

"Not after what you did!" I told her, grinning.

"No, I mean it! Get off!" she snapped.

I got up slowly, and questioned, "What's your problem? I thought we were just having fun!"

"Ray wouldn't like it if he saw us," she answered casually. "We were a bit too close together."

"Does it always have to be about him?" I demanded. "That's all you care about!"

"No it's not!" she denied. "I care about you too! And Will, and my friends. If I tell you we shouldn't do something, it's because I'm with Ray now and he gets jealous. I don't want to make him unhappy; I want to make him as happy as he had made me. Back when we were in Hong Kong, everyone knew that we were close…"

I froze for a moment. "So we can't be close anymore?"

"No, we just can't do some of the things we used to when we were younger. I still want to share everything with you though. You are still my best friend and I love you very much still," she finished.

"Okay," I said. This was probably the best deal I was ever going to get for now.

"Let's get the cake off of us," she suggested.

As we started walking along the hall, she got some cake from her stomach and ate it. "It tastes so good, Louis is so good at baking."

Why did she have to fall in love with Ray?

Normal POV

"I can't believe her!" Tyson complained. "She wasted a perfectly good cake!"

"She and Jeff got ice cream all over each other yesterday. You should've seen Kai's face when he found them covered in eight liters of ice cream," Ray told Tyson.

"I can live without the cake," was the blue haired boy's reply. His stomach contradicted him by letting out a long growl.

Hilary laughed, "I don't think so. Let's find you something to eat before you die of hunger."

Tyson all but gaped at her. Normally she would be screeching about how he shouldn't eat and now…this? Girls were the most bizarre creatures he had even seen in his life. They were even queerer than the animal that looked like it had been beaten up and had a permanent black eye. (He doesn't know what a panda is, LOL!)

Zarine and Jeff reappeared clean and cake free while the others were eating a chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream in the kitchen.

"Ice cream! I want some too!" Zarine said. "And a piece of that cake."

"You will get none," the chef told her.

She pouted. "Why? Please!"

"Because you threw my cake at Jeff. Food is not meant to be thrown," he scolded her. "Really! You are almost a grown woman, be more sensible!"

"Aww…come on, Louis! I ate as much of the remains of the cake as I could!" the petite girl reasoned. "Please, let me have some of that chocolate cake."

Ray frowned. "What are you talking about, Zarine? You ate the cake off of Jeff!"

"Of course not!" she denied, her face flaming red.

"Excuse us," he said to the others, and dragged her out of the kitchen to talk.

Ray took hold of her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Tell me the truth, what were you two doing?"

"He rubbed cake onto me and when we went to clean cake off of the both of us, I ate the crumbs and cream that was on me," she replied truthfully. She didn't want to lie, not to Ray. "I told him not to do it again," she added when she saw him looking extremely angry.

The petite girl took his hand and led him back into the kitchen. He was just sitting back down into his chair when Zarine motioned for him to make space for her too. She settled into his lap and asked quietly, "Can I please have some of your cake?"

"And I thought you wanted to sit here because you love me so much," he sighed and handed her the fork.

"That was part of the reason…" she told him. "You know that I do."

"I don't want you to go," he grumbled.

"You can get by without me for two weeks," she sighed, licking the icing from the fork. "Besides, I really miss my aunt and uncle."

"I know," he said, wrapping his arms around her. "But I will die without you for a day. I will miss you so much."

"I will miss you too. I promise to call you everyday." She told him, holding out her pinkie. "Pinkie swear."

He shook her little pinkie with his own. "You better call me or else!"

* * *

Here's your long awaited chapter. I think it's alright and hope you liked it. :) 


	38. Chapter 36: Decisions

Chapter Thirty-Six - Decisions

This was the day. This was the day that Zarine's leaving with her brother and friend. That thought made Ray miserable. He wished he could stop time to a trickle and lengthen the minutes that he could spend with his girlfriend.

Everyone was pretty quiet during the last minutes before Zarine, Jeff and Will had to go.

Zarine squeezed his hand tightly once and smiled warmly at him. He felt himself relax and smiled back. Her smile always assured him and put warmth in his heart. How was he ever going to let her go? He led her some distance away from the others to talk to her. Jeff scowled darkly at him when he did that, but he ignored the glare and turned his attention on Zarine.

Ray held her as close to him as he could and rested his cheek on the top of her head. "I will miss you," he sighed.

"Me too," she said. "I love you."

"Don't forget that you are mine," he whispered in her ear when he saw Jeff's jealous look. Whatever Zarine said or did to try to assure him, he didn't trust that guy around her.

"I wouldn't," she promised. "The others are waiting…"

He gave her a quick kiss before letting her join her brother and best friend. "Call me," he told her.

"We will miss you lots!" Carrie cried to her friend's back.

Zarine turned around and waved in response. When the trio finally disappeared, Ray sighed. He wasn't going to see his love for two weeks.

A woman with chestnut colored hair was standing in the airport with a heavy set man. There were a lot of people and they were searching for three teenagers anxiously.

"Do you think they have passed and we had missed them?" the woman asked her husband anxiously.

"MOM! DAD!" their son's voice reached their ears.

Jeff was panting slightly as he reached them, dragging his carryon suitcase. He gave his parents each a hug. "I've missed you both."

"We've missed you too," his mother said warmly. "Where're Will and Zarine?"

"Ice cream," he replied shortly.

His dad chuckled. "That's our Zarine."

Five minutes later, Will and Zarine appeared with an ice cream cone in their hands. "Uncle Jimmy!" the petite girl cried, before hurling herself at him.

"How's my girl doing?" he asked, hugging her fondly. "We've missed your smiles around the house."

Zarine also gave her aunt a hug. "It's so good to see you again!"

"It's good to see you too," Ella said, smiling warmly at her. "Let's go, Henry is waiting."

"Henry is the butler," Will said when he saw his sister's confused look.

She turned to Jeff slowly, and demanded, "You have a butler and you never said anything?"

Jeff shrugged. "It's no big deal, Kai has one." He cast Will a sly look. "Did your brother tell you that he has a girlfriend? They make out all day around the house and it makes me sick."

Zarine gave her brother the coldest look that she could and started a conversation with the two adults instead.

"Thanks a lot," Will muttered.

"She is going to find out anyways. Alanna is probably waiting in front of the door for you to come back so she can kiss you," Jeff said, grinning widely. "She pines for you if you are away."

Will checked that Zarine was deep in conversation with Jeff's parents before saying, "Just an advice, I suggest you give up on Zarine. You should find someone else."

His friend's face darkened noticeable. There was no way that he would give up on her. He believed that in time, he could win her heart.

"You've seen her with Ray, and you know how much they love each other," Will was saying.

"I don't believe that," Jeff snapped. "They like each other a lot, but there's no way that they are in love."

"You are blind then." Will eyed his friend anxiously. Sure, Jeff was his friend and he wanted him to be happy. However, Zarine was his sister and she was more important to him than the world. Their parents were gone and as the older brother, it was his responsibility to take care of her. He told Jeff that, but the other teen stubbornly waved aside his reasons. Jeff didn't care what anyone said. Zarine will be his and soon.

The automatic doors opened instantly upon their approach. They walked through it and there was a_ limo_ waiting for them. Zarine didn't expect Jeff's family to be_ that _wealthy after Jim's promotion.

There was a man in his fifties in the driver's seat, who Zarine assumed was Henry, the butler. "Henry, this is Zarine. Zarine, Henry is our butler," Will introduced.

"Nice to meet you miss," she said politely. Henry gave her a curt nod and started the car.

"Drive us to a good hotel, we will eat dinner there," her uncle told Henry.

_A hotel?_ Zarine thought. _They must be doing well. _She had eaten at hotels before, but that was for special occasions, and she hardly considered her return to Hong Kong to be something special.

Jim got them a table when they arrived in the restaurant in a hotel. Apparently, a "good" hotel meant that it had to have the most expensive tiles, a huge swimming pool and every service imaginable. It was quite difficult for Zarine to adjust to this lavish way of spending money.

The sight of the amount of food made her think of Tyson. She grinned to herself as she imagined his face if he was there. _Half of the food would be gone by now,_ she thought, and it nearly made her giggle.

They all ate more than they should have, and went back home. Zarine was feeling more than a little sleepy when they got into the limo. She gave a huge yawn.

"You want to sleep?" Jeff offered his shoulder for her to sleep on, but Zarine shook her head. "I can keep my eyes open for a while. Thanks for offering."

The silver haired girl just wanted to flop onto a bed or even a couch and fall asleep by the time they arrived home. It was strange, sometimes she didn't feel tired at all, and then all of a sudden, she would want to fall asleep right on the spot.

"Will, find some pajamas for her and get her into a bed before she dozes off," she heard someone say. She didn't really care, and shook her head to try to wake herself. Someone led her up some stairs and into a room. There was a huge bed in there…she looked at it longingly.

"Change into these, brush your teeth and then you can sleep," Will said, handing her some clothes. "The bathroom is just across the hall and the pink toothbrush on the counter is for you."

She did as he told her. She didn't take notice of the expensive furnishings or appreciate how tastefully they were arranged. All she wanted was to lie on a bed. She climbed in the canopied bed and settled in the warmth of the blankets. Dream was on the edge of coming when something cold and wet touched her neck made her sit upright quickly. She fumbled for a lamp and turned one on. Blinking in the dim light, she spotted a big dog, sitting on the bed and looking at her curiously.

The dog's fur was very white, as white as snow. The deep brown eyes reflected its curiosity. Zarine looked at one of the tags on the collar and learned that the dog's name was Winter and that it was a female.

"Hello girl," Zarine said softly, stroking her fur. Winter sniffed at her with great interest, and finally settled down at her feet.

Suddenly, she remembered that she had to call Ray. On the other side of the bed, there was a portable phone on a night table. She picked it up hurriedly and dialed the number.

"Hello?" Ray's voice came from the other side. She smiled happily as she heard his voice.

"Ray, I am in Hong Kong, safe and sound," she told him.

"Why didn't you call earlier?" he asked.

"I was eating dinner. Guess what?"

"Hmm?" Ray smiled at the cheerfulness in her voice.

"I was going to sleep and then I found out that I had invaded a dog's sleeping space," she giggled. "You have to thank her for waking me up."

"You invaded a dog's sleeping space?" he laughed at her.

"Yep! It was sleeping on the bed and then I came along and took half of the space."

"I bet it wasn't happy. Anyway, you sound really tired, so I won't keep you awake," her boyfriend said.

"You aren't! I want to talk to you," she said wistfully. There were a million things she wanted to talk to him about.

"Me too. We can talk about them when you come back."

She sighed. "I guess so…Good night. I love you."

"Sweet dreams, cutie," he said before hanging up.

The next week was hard on Ray. Zarine's phone calls were the only things that sustained him for the next seven days. He still managed to have fun with his friends though. One of the memorable things worth mentioning was Tyson, who had eaten so much; his stomach was like a small hill. He fell onto his tummy after the meal, and began rolling down the hill and ended up into a river. Everyone laughed until they cried, except Kai, but even he had an amused glint in his eyes.

The week for Zarine was special. She had missed the feeling of being with a family and loved it. She wanted to stay, but Ray was waiting for her. She would give up anything to be with him. The day after she arrived, she went to visit her parent's gravesites, and left flowers for them. Afterwards, her aunt and uncle insisted on taking her out and spoiling her in every way. She spent the six days in amusement parks, cinemas, water parks, zoos, and other places.

"Zarine," Jeff knocked on the door. "Mom and Dad want to talk to you."

"Okay," she replied, opening the door quickly. He couldn't help but grin when he saw Winter snuggled beside the huge pile of stuffed animals on her bed. Zarine had stolen the heart of the dog, and now she follows the girl everywhere.

"What's so funny?" she asked, peering at him curiously as they walked down the hall. "Are you making fun of my PJs?" She was wearing a cute top with a picture of a bear sleeping soundly under a tree.

"Of course not," he said, smiling at her. "I just feel happy to have you back again." _Back by my side, _he added silently.

The living room was dimly lit by a lamp by the couch, casting a shadow over the two adults' solemn faces.

"Zarine, sit down," her uncle motioned over the seat across from him and his wife.

When Jeff made to sit down beside his friend, his mother said, "We want to talk to her alone, dear. It's late, you should go to bed." He shrugged and left quietly, wondering what his parents were going to say to Zarine.

"Zarine, it is our wish that you would stay with us permanently," her uncle began.

The petite girl felt her heart skip a beat and immediately thought of Ray. "but…"

He held up a hand and continued, "We know that your teammate offered his hospitality and that he meant well. However, it is time for you to come back home and settle down."

"I don't understand! Why can't I go back?" she questioned. All she could think about was what was going to happen between Ray and her if she couldn't go back.

"We want you to live here, in a proper household," her aunt explained. "I am sure those boys are nice but we want to make sure you get a proper education and raised up properly. We don't want you running off with them."

"There are good schools in Japan too!" Zarine protested.

"I know, but we are your guardians! We say that you stay in Hong Kong and live with us!" the man told her irritably. He had expected her to obey them quietly, like she had obeyed her parents when she was younger. Her objections convinced him that she was turning bad with her team's influence.

"You are my what?" she asked softly, her eyes glowed almost menacingly.

Her aunt answered, "Your guardians. It is only natural since we were the closest friends to your parents, and they didn't have any relatives."

"So I have to stay here even if I don't want to?"

"That's right! You live here now, and you would not go back to Japan. You will quit beyblading and leave your team, you got that?"

Her heart grew cold as she clutched her beyblade in her pocket. It grew hot in her hand. Xeora was sharing her anger at her uncle's decisions too. There would be no excuse, no chance to see her friends again, except maybe on television.

The girl nodded numbly and didn't say anything. "What about Ray?" she whispered finally.

"It would be best…if you break up with him," Ella said, shifting uncomfortably. "We want you to date some respectable young men, not someone you met on the streets."

"You mean the spoiled sons of wealthy businessmen?" she asked in horror.

"They are nice, charming young men. Some of them are, at least. I will introduce you to them personally," her uncle assured her.

It was more horrible than she had imagined. Tears poured down her face. "But I love Ray! He loves me back. We are happy together!"

"Love, he scoffed. "What do you know about love at your age? You will forget about this boyfriend of yours soon enough."

She sat there, crying silently, long after her aunt and uncle had left. She thought about her friends, and most of all, Ray. She wished she was in his arms and he was telling her that everything was all right.

_What am I going to tell him? _She thought. _How can I tell him that I can't see him anymore…and that I have to break up with him?_

Looking up at the clock, she remembered that she hadn't called Ray yet that day. She wiped her tears away hastily and closed her eyes sadly. She didn't want to call him, but she had to. She promised to call him everyday.

She walked up the stairs, dragging her feet. Finally, she sat down on the bed, beside the phone. Taking a deep breath, she dialed the number and waited.

Ray, who was pacing around, jumped when the phone rang. He picked it up breathlessly, "Zarine!"

"How did you know it was me?" she asked.

"Of course it's you! You haven't called yet," he replied, smiling. "How was your day?"

"It was okay," she answered quietly. There was a long pause then she said, "I really miss you."

"I miss you too" he said. "Is something wrong? You sound weird."

"It's probably just the connection. I just miss you and really want to see you."

"Me too. We will see each other again in a week thought," he said brightly. "I can't wait."

"Yeah…I have to go now. I will call you again tomorrow," Zarine said, barely managing to hold her tears at bay. She hung up quickly, and started to cry again.

"Wait!" Ray said, but only the dial tone answered. He had a feeling that something was wrong. He made a face. _Zarine will tell me if something is wrong, _he thought_, I'm probably being paranoid. _

"Are you awake?" Zarine heard Jeff ask outside in the hall. She ignored him and turned her back on the door, trying to stifle her sobs in the pillows.

He knew she was still awake. He was able to hear her cry. "I know you are awake. Open the door please and tell me what's wrong." There was no response, so he turned the doorknob and went into her room.

"Zarine?" he said gently.

She raised her tearstained face to look at him. "Jeff!" she cried, hugging him tightly. "It's so horrible!"

"What is?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her and stroking her hair comfortingly.

"Your parents wouldn't let me go back to Japan. They want me to quit beyblading and leave my team. And…I have to break up with Ray," she told him, crying even harder at the end.

He felt a surge of triumph. The girl in his arms would be free for him to take. He didn't know what his parents meant to do, only that they wanted to keep her in Hong Kong. It was harsh for them to tell her to leave the team though. _At least she wouldn't be seeing him again. Now I have her all to myself,_ he thought happily. "Why?" he asked.

"I don't know. They want me to date a guy who is a son of rich businessmen. I don't want to!" she said.

"Don't worry. They wouldn't make you if you don't want to," he promised. "Not if I can help it._ You will be mine,_ he relished the thought_. All mine…

* * *

I know, I didn't update for a long time. I was preoccupied with other things in school. School is OVER now, so I can update more, if I am not being a lazy bum. Anyways, I am glad that I took a break from writing, since I have more enthusiasm for it after a vacation, and more importantly, I actually want to write. :)_

Poll: Who had seriously considered shooting me for not updating? (or something even worse like drowning me with a bunch of eels?)

A: DOH! After the first day, I had that in mind.

B: Hehe, of course not.


End file.
